A Stolen Beginning
by somewherenice
Summary: When Edward is tragically killed not long after he marries Bella, Bella is left alone: an eighteen-year-old widow. How will she cope when the love of her life has been taken from her?
1. Chapter 1  Grief

**Author's note, copyright declaration...etc**

This story takes place after Book 1 of _Breaking Dawn _finishes, after Bella and Edward return from their honeymoon, so you have to imagine that the remaining two parts of _Breaking Dawn _did not happen and that this carries on from the conclusion of _Breaking Dawn: _Book 1 (in which Edward and Bella get married, go on honeymoon where Bella gets pregnant and they return to Washington). Feedback, criticism and comments are welcome! Please read and review! Yes, I know chapter 1 is short but I will upload more at regular intervals (about once or twice a week)

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

**Preface**

Come to me in my dreams, and then  
>By day I shall be well again!<br>For so the night will more than pay  
>The hopeless longing of the day.<p>

Come, as thou cam'st a thousand times,  
>A messenger from radiant climes,<br>And smile on thy new world, and be  
>As kind to others as to me!<p>

Or, as thou never cam'st in sooth,  
>Come now, and let me dream it truth,<br>And part my hair, and kiss my brow,  
>And say, My love why sufferest thou?<p>

Come to me in my dreams, and then  
>By day I shall be well again!<br>For so the night will more than pay  
>The hopeless longing of the day.<p>

**_Longing, _a poem byMatthew Arnold**

**Chapter One**

– **Grief –**

It is two years to the day since Edward was brutally murdered by the Volturi. The day after he died, I miscarried our child. It was almost as though our child could not survive without his father's presence in the world and for a while I felt like that too. I still feel like that sometimes, on days when the gnawing ache rises up within me and I have to fight to keep from screaming and sobbing at the injustice of the world. I remember lying, confined in bed, for what felt like years, and letting the tears drip slowly down my hot cheeks, as the Cullens watched me helplessly, powerless to alleviate the unbearable ache. They were grieving too, for they had lost a brother and a son.

And Jacob, always Jacob. Every time my eyes flickered open, he was there sitting beside me, watching me and willing me to shake off this depression that felt like it would never end. It brought back memories from when Edward left me the first time, when Jacob pulled me through the darkness and helped me see light again. My mother flew immediately from Florida and my dad spent every waking minute he could at my bedside, but I could not respond to anything or anyone. I felt weak and dizzy, as though I were falling from a great height and my parachute would not open. Then the nightmares started again and I was lost in terrifying delirium, with no Edward to save me this time.

Slowly, I began to make progress. "Time heals all wounds," Carlisle said to me and I repeat it to myself on the days when I feel as if my world has gone, evaporated in a puff of smoke like the enchanted fairytale it was. I treasure the memories of those halcyon honeymoon days when I was Edward's wife, those too-short days made bittersweet by their ending. It seems eons ago now and when I look back at our beautiful honeymoon; our wedding night, swimming under the full moon, lying on the beach at Isle Esme and marveling at the beautiful scenery, I feel as if a whole lifetime has passed and yet as I look around me I realise that I am only at the beginning of my life. I am barely into adulthood but I have experienced so much at a time when most people are enjoying the carefree days of college. I went to the meadow today and lay down and sobbed until my head ached. I wept for all that I have lost; Edward, our baby, my life together with Edward and our child, my dream of being a happy little family; secure and safe. Two years ago today, I was made a widow, widowed at eighteen. I find it hard to comprehend. The word seems so wrong, it doesn't suit me. I long for a glimpse of Edward, for the sound of his voice and the shape of his lips forming my name, "Bella, my Bella". But he does not come, and I am alone once more.


	2. Chapter 2 Flashback

**Chapter Two**

– **Flashback –**

It happened two days after Edward and I arrived back in Forks. We were both still in a state of shock from the unexpected revelation that I was pregnant and my rapidly increasing pregnancy made it clear that it was no ordinary human baby that I was carrying. Edward and I both knew that it would be necessary for me to become a vampire within the immediate future as the Volturi had already made veiled but ominously clear threats that if I continued to remain human Edward was breaking the strict secrecy law, wherein humans are not permitted to learn of the existence of vampires, and that punishment would be meted out by them if the law was repeatedly broken. But the pregnancy threw everything up in the air. There was no way that I was prepared to risk my baby with the difficult and painful transformation from human to vampire – but how else would I be saved from the wrath of the Volturi?

On the second day after our return from honeymoon, I awoke as usual to find Edward sitting at my bedside. "Good morning, beautiful," he said, his customary morning greeting, as he leant forward to kiss me. "I don't want to leave you, Bella, but I have got to hunt today. Will you be okay?"

I nodded, "Of course. I'm in very capable hands. Don't worry, Edward, everything is going to be fine."

He looked at me, a strange expression in his eyes, and said nothing.

"I know you think I am making the wrong decision, Edward, but I am going to keep this baby. I _have _to keep this baby. I can't dispose of a life just like that."

"Oh Bella," he sighed. "Do you not understand the probable outcome? I don't want to be blunt with you, love, but it's better than keeping you in the dark and..."

I interrupted him before he could continue, "_Yes_, Edward, I do understand. And I know that I am strong enough to survive."

He gave a sad smile, "You always were so stubborn."

"Not stubborn, Edward," I whispered, wincing at the waves of nausea began to come over me, "Just doing what is right. Now, you must go and hunt. I'll still be here when you get back."

He nodded and kissed me again, a gentle kiss with so much love and tenderness that I nearly began to feel my eyes filling with moisture.

"Goodbye, darling. I will be as quick as I can, only a couple of hours."

I smiled and waved as he went out of the room, "See you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, Bella," he said, as he softly closed my bedroom door. I heard him converse in a low voice with Carlisle, who then opened the door and entered the room.

"How are you feeling today, Bella?"

"Just the same. A bit sick, but not too bad."

He took out his stethoscope and medical paraphernalia and began his customary morning examination, concluding by measuring my stomach. "You are increasing at an abnormally rapid pace," Carlisle said. "I have never seen anything like this before."

After we had discussed certain matters, I got myself up, had a shower and dressed in my old sweatpants and comfy top, and then awaited Edward's return. All in all, it was just another regular day in the Cullen household. Alice was flicking through designer fashion catalogues; she took delight in behaving as if I were her own personal dress-up doll. "Hey, look at this one, Bella," she said, pointing out a slinky silk gown in dark blue, "That would really suit you."

I laughed, "Alice, I can't fit into that. Carlisle's estimated that I'm expanding by several centimeters per day. I think sweatpants are going to be the clothes du jour for a little while."

"Yes, yes," she said impatiently. "I'm talking about _after _you've had the baby. You're not going to be that size forever."

"_After _I've had the baby, I'm not going to have occasions to wear silk dresses anyway, Alice. It's not really suitable attire for changing diapers in."

"Oh Bella," she said, giving me an exasperated look. "There will be the baby's christening and New Year parties, and Christmas, and your birthday. And New York…" she stopped and her hand flew to her mouth. "Oh," she squeaked, "how could I be so stupid? Edward is going to kill me when he gets back."

"New York? What are you talking about, Alice?"

"Sssh!" she said, "Forget I said it. Now, look at this. Would you prefer it in fuchsia pink or dark purple?"

As Alice continued choosing a wardrobe for me that would probably cost the GDP of a small country, my eyes kept flicking back and forth to the clock. After three hours had elapsed, I began to feel edgy. Alice had left the room and the only person in the room besides me was Esme, who was sitting quietly in a corner reading a novel.

"Esme, Edward said he'd be back within two hours," I said anxiously. "Where do you think he is?"

She put her book down and looked up, "I'm sure he'll be back soon, Bella, but you're right. It is a little strange. Let me go and get Alice and see if she can see where…"

But before Esme could finish her sentence, Alice came flying into the room, visibly distressed. "Oh, oh," she choked out.

"What is it?" Esme said in alarm, "What's wrong?"

By this time, the others had heard the anxious voices and gathered in the room, all of them looking equally worried. My stomach began to churn, made worse by the morning sickness.

"Alice, sit down," Carlisle said, calmly. "Sit down, sweetheart, and tell us what you have seen."

"The Volturi…," she said slowly, "They found out that Bella is still human and they tracked Edward and…"

Her sentence trailed away and I did not have to ask her what happened next; it was written plainly on her face. I began to scream uncontrollably as my world smashed to pieces, shaking and trembling as sobs wracked my body.

"Get my black bag," Carlisle said urgently to Esme, his medical manner kicking in and overriding his own grief. "I wouldn't normally prescribe sedatives during pregnancy but we need to pacify Bella quickly."

Esme choked back her own sobs and nodded, hurriedly leaving the room. She was back in an instant, carrying Carlisle's large medical bag. He opened it and extracted a white packet. "Bella, please take this," he said gently, proffering a tablet and a full glass of water. "Swallow the tablet and sip the water slowly."

I took it from him, but found it hard to drink. My throat was burnt and raw from crying and my breathing was shallow. When, with difficulty, I had finished the water, I felt slightly calmer as the effects of the drug began to kick in but it was not real, genuine calmness, just a drug-induced drowsiness.

"Now, Alice dear," Carlisle said. "Can you sit down and tell me how…," he lowered his voice to a whisper that was within only a vampire's audible range.

Alice looked round, "Should we tell Bella?" I heard her say, forgetting to whisper.

"Yes," Carlisle replied, and they walked over to the sofa and sat down beside me.

"Bella," Alice began, and I raised my tear-stained face to look at her. "I am so, so sorry that I did not foresee this. My visions have been affected by your baby, they keep blurring and that happened especially when I was trying to see visions involving you and…Edward. I wish I could have prevented it."

"I know, Alice, I know," I whispered as she leaned forward to hug me and the tears started again. "It wasn't your fault."

"He sent a message to me when he died, Bella, hoping that I would see it in my mind," Alice said, her voice breaking. "His strongest thought when he died was his love for you. He…he wanted to tell you that he will love you always."

I couldn't speak; my throat was swollen with tears.

"Bella must rest now," Carlisle said firmly, as he carried me out of the room and up the stairs. Lying in Edward's room in the bed he had bought for us was painful, seeing his physical possessions, his books, his music collection, his journals…the room was as if he would just walk in at any moment. I realised that I was expecting that, as if this was all some terrible dream from which I would wake to see Edward's smiling face close to mine and feel his lips tenderly brush my cheek. The rain came down in torrents outside as I stared out of the window. I remembered hazily that it had been fine this morning, a beautiful day in early fall when the leaves were just beginning to turn golden. Carlisle gave me a second pill and I took it, drifting into a heavy, lethargic oblivion of nothingness, no pain but with no meaning either. Of course there was no meaning. Edward was gone, how could there be any meaning left in the world?


	3. Chapter 3 Resurgence

**Hey guys. Thanks for reading my story so far. I've had an amazing amount of hits and story visitors since I published the first two chapters on Sunday. Here's chapter three. Hope you enjoy! And please let me know what you think...chapter four will be uploaded by this weekend. :)**

**Copyright declaration: The Twilight series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not for profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Chapter Three**

– **Resurgence –**

Why did the Volturi kill Edward? It would have made more sense for them to kill _me_ because I was human and knew about the existence of vampires. But they didn't. Carlisle said it was a punishment to the Cullens for breaking the rules and that it was easier for them to pounce on Edward when he was alone, hunting, than to fight their way to me, who was surrounded by the Cullens….but no amounting of reasoning could make the pain go away.

"New York, New York," Alice sang as she skipped into the room, jerking me from my memory of that horrendous day and the day after when….. I shuddered and forced myself to shove it out of my mind as much as I could.

"New York?"

"Bella," Alice said, sitting down beside me. "It's your twenty-first birthday in two weeks and you didn't think we were just going to ignore it, did you?"

"I suppose I was hoping you would," I replied, smiling.

"We were going to keep New York a surprise from you but we figured that it would be pretty difficult because you would only make it hard for us when we go to the airport."

Alice!" I interrupted. "You make me sound like a two-year-old!"

"Well, you would be bound to see the destination on the departure board anyway," she continued impatiently, "and I thought you would want some time to prepare yourself."

"Thanks," I muttered, pretending to be sulky but actually feeling quite excited. I have never been to New York before for the full city experience and while I am no stranger to cities, my years spent living in Phoenix don't exactly compare to New York.

"It was Edward's idea in the beginning," Alice said softly.

"Edward's idea?" I said, trying to keep back the tears from my already heightened emotional state. "What do you mean?"

"Before he…passed away, he had planned to whisk you away to New York. He was preparing it a couple of months before the wedding and it was going to be an extension of your honeymoon, but then of course the pregnancy changed that. But I know that Edward would like you to go and have a good time there, in memory of him, and what better time to do that than your twenty-first birthday? He wouldn't want you to be miserable, I know that for certain. So we're going to New York the day before your birthday and we're staying there for a week, just as Edward planned."

"Oh," I breathed. I really was crying now. It hurt me to think about all the things that had been left unfulfilled between Edward and I, but it was strangely comforting to think that the destination of this birthday trip was Edward's idea and had his endorsement. When I had composed myself and wiped the tears away, I was anxious to know who Alice had invited on this birthday trip, "Please don't say that you've invited the whole of Forks to witness me embarrass myself in New York, Alice."

"Oh don't be silly, Bella," Alice said, giving me a reproving look. "Unless you want to invite anyone else, the party is going to consist of all of us, your parents and Jacob."

"Jake?" I said, momentarily surprised.

"He is your closest friend so I thought it made sense to invite him," Alice said, looking at me uncertainly, as if she thought that she had done the wrong thing.

"No…yes," I said, momentarily flustered. "That's fine, absolutely fine."

"Okay then," Alice said briskly. "We're got two weeks to prepare your wardrobe."

"My wardrobe?" I said, inwardly groaning.

"Yes, of course. You can't turn twenty-one without having a proper party dress to celebrate in and as the party is going to last a week, we need to go shopping!"

Most of the following ten days involved preparation, some of which I was allowed to see, some of which I was not. The night before we were due to fly to NYC, I spent an hour in silent contemplation, sitting alone outside in the Cullens' garden. I had taken to doing that a lot and after Edward died my dad worried that I was slipping back into the dark murky waters of depression which had engulfed me before. But this time it was different. The same night terrors came back to haunt me and I still cry for Edward, but I have reached a tentative kind of acceptance during the past two years; a concurrence with something that is unchangeable. It doesn't make it any easier though, when I think of the life Edward and I had planned to lead together and all of our lost dreams.

"Bella? What are you doing out here?"

I turned my head, wiping the tear tracks away, "Jake?"

"Are you okay?"

He came and sat beside me and I was grateful for his raised body warmth – werewolves run at higher temperatures than humans – for the night was getting cold.

"I should go to bed. Busy day tomorrow," I said, trying to laugh.

"Yeah," he nodded. "And you're the star of it all."

"Ugh," I squirmed exaggeratedly. "I can't think of anything more terrifying than NYC, Alice and my twenty-first birthday combined! I'm bound to make some stupid mistake or show my klutziness off in front of everyone."

"Don't be silly, Bella," Jacob said, smiling. "You're going to have fun and I think that's what you need right now."

I lapsed into silence, thinking of what might have been, and Jacob said empathetically, "I know it's hard for you, but don't you think this is what…Edward would want for you? To lead a full, happy life and to enjoy yourself, in his memory?"

"That's what Alice said."

"And she's right," Jacob answered.

"Yeah," I nodded, taking a deep breath and inhaling the fresh night air.

"So," he asked casually. "What are your plans for the future? I mean, you can't stay here in Forks forever."

"I honestly have no idea, I'm thinking of applying to college next year."

"I was having the same thoughts," he replied.

"Jake, what?" I laughed. "You're not interested in the academic stuff."

"I don't want to lose you, Bella. I nearly lost you once already; it's not going to happen again."

"Jacob," I snapped at him suddenly, "I've made it clear to you that I'm not interested in you in that way…in anyone in that way right now. Can't you just give it a rest?"

"No, Bella. It's been over two years now since he died and you're still living in the past, wishing for something that's not going to happen."

"How dare you tell me what my feelings are?" I gasped, too angry at Jacob's domineering interference to say what I really felt.

"Because I know you, Bella, better than Edward _ever_ did."

"Which gives you the right to tell me how I should feel?" I yelled.

"No, of course not, but…"

I interrupted before he could say anything else, "I need to go get some sleep before tomorrow."

"'Night, Bella," he said, his voice lingering on the words. "See you tomorrow, bright and early."

"Yeah, see you...or not," I muttered.

I watched as he vanished into the night, the darkness swallowing him up, and then walked slowly into the house to get some rest before the busy activity of tomorrow began.


	4. Chapter 4 Journey

**Hi! First of all, thanks for reading my Twilight fan-fic story so far. **

**I've had an exhaustingly busy week and feel so tired right now but I am looking forward to seeing what you think of Chapter Four! I'm uploading the story faster than I initially expected, so be prepared for another chapter to come sometime over the weekend. And I hope you're all having a great holiday season. :)**

**Please R&R (read and review!) **

**Copyright declaration: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's note: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.**

**Chapter Four**

**- Journey -**

The next day I was up at 6 am, an hour before the rest of the Cullens appeared from their rooms. Vampires don't sleep but they all retire to their rooms at night. Esme says Carlisle meditates a lot and that meditation is the only thing that allows him some respite from the busy thoughts of the day. I've been staying with them a lot recently and although my dad made it clear that he would like it if I moved back in with him, I couldn't bring myself to do it permanently. In his house there are too many reminders of my old life and of the girl I was, and most of all, too many reminders of Edward. Of course, I am reminded of him in the Cullens' house too but I feel better there, more at home. It was hard to admit this to my dad but he acknowledged the fact that I am Mrs. Bella Cullen now. Although it might not be the usual convention for someone to stay with their in-laws for the majority of the time, my marriage was no ordinary marriage and the Cullens are not exactly a traditional family.

So, I've been staying there and working in Forks for the past two years, pretty uneventful really. I haven't made it to college yet, after graduating from high school, but I have completed a few correspondence courses so I don't get out of the habit and I am planning to make a few enquiries about applying to college next year. After all, I am not planning on staying in Forks forever. There is too much history here; sometimes I expect to see Edward walking down Main Street or sitting in his room listening to his beloved Debussy. I feel that I need a fresh start. Andof course, the Cullens can't stay here forever. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett are all supposed to be away at college so it's impossible for any of them to go to Forks, in order to keep up the pretence. But although they're often away on trips and explorations (Rosalie and Emmett went to India last month), Esme and Carlisle are still here, with Carlisle occupied with his busy job at the hospital. Sooner or later people are going to notice that they are not aging or showing any visible signs of change. Esme told me that a woman has already commented on the luster of her skin and asked her for her beauty secrets, which Esme laughed off under the story of having had cosmetic surgery in Los Angeles. They haven't voiced anything to me yet but I know they are thinking about moving to another area of the States soon. When they do, it will force me to make decisions about my own life.

7 am – time to get going. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and we loaded our suitcases into Carlisle's huge car. "Where's Jake got to?" I asked, checking my watch. "We should be going soon."

"It's okay, Bella," Esme replied. "You're picking him up from your dad's house and we're following you."

"But I thought I was coming with you?"

Last night's argument was still fresh in my mind and spending an hour in a car, alone, with Jacob really did not fit my ideal scenario.

"I don't think it's really necessary for the dog to travel with us," Rosalie said snootily.

"Oh, okay, I get your point," I muttered back.

The smell of werewolves, even when they are in human form, is highly repulsive to vampires. Although the other Cullens politely pay no attention to it, Rosalie will find any excuse to avoid Jacob, whom she distrusts.

"So is my dad going with you then?" I questioned.

"We offered him the ride," Carlisle said. "It would be nice to get to know him a little better."

"Are you guys planning some sort of conspiracy or something?" I grumbled as I walked to Alice's Porsche, which I was borrowing. "Or did Jake set this up?"

"C'mon Rosalie, time to go!" Emmett called, and we set off, a convoy of three cars, one driven by Carlisle, the other by Emmett and Alice's Porsche driven by me. It didn't take long to drive to my dad's house. Charlie and Jacob were waiting on the steps, laughing and joking. My dad's always gotten along well with Jake and I know he considers him to practically be part of the family, or _wishes _he was part of the family.

"Hey, Bella," Jacob greeted me as he got in the front seat of the car.

"Hi," I said monosyllabically in return.

"We'll see you in Port Angeles," Carlisle waved as Charlie got into the car, giving me a thumbs-up. I sighed. Carlisle hadn't fooled me into thinking that the Cullens had just invited my dad along for the ride because they wanted to do some in-law bonding, meeting the family... I knew exactly why my dad was doing this, engineering it so that I would have to spend a full hour in a car with Jacob. My father made no secret of his hope for my future.

"C'mon Bells," Jacob said. "Let's get moving, or they'll be ahead of us."

I turned the key in the ignition and we set off; Jake fiddled with the radio and settled on some country-pop station. We sat companionably side-by-side; I'd been friends with Jacob long enough to feel completely at ease talking about virtually anything in the world, despite my grumpiness from last night's dispute. I knew that he knew that my dad had done this on purpose and silently laughed to myself. Dear Charlie, how nice it was of him to organize for me to spend some time with my best buddy.

"Look, Bella," Jacob began awkwardly after I'd driven a couple of miles down the highway. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's okay," I acknowledged his apology. "Really, just forget about it. But don't pressure me again, okay?"

With country music blaring out of the stereo and me really putting my foot down on the accelerator in Alice's Porsche (I enjoyed the slightly worried look on Jacob's face as he watched the speedometer climbing), the hour to Port Angeles went by very quickly indeed. We checked our luggage in and boarded the flight to Seattle, which didn't take long. Once in Seattle, we had a half hour to spare before we needed to go to the terminal for the flight to New York, which I spent reading _Wuthering Heights_, much to the dismay of Alice, who kept trying to drag me off to look at clothes, perfume and make-up. Then, we boarded our flight and I began to feel a quiver of excitement as the plane ascended and I watched Seattle spread out below me.


	5. Chapter 5 Birthday

**Hello! I hope you're having an awesome Sunday. Here is chapter 5...quite a lot happens in this chapter and I hope you like it!**

**Copyright declaration: The **_**Twilight **_**series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's note: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of **_**Twilight **_**fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.**

**Chapter Five**

– **Birthday –**

The Cullens had hired an entire hotel in Manhattan for my birthday celebrations. I didn't even dare to think how many dollars it would cost to hire out a whole hotel for a week. The three-room suite which was mine for the duration of our stay was gorgeously decadent and luxurious, with a huge bedroom, bathroom and its own private sitting room.

"Esme and Carlisle are next door," Alice said, "and Jasper and I are along the hallway, if you need anything."

"Wow, Alice," I said, shaking my head. "This is just….amazing."

"Well, it's not every day you're twenty-one, is it?" she replied, laughing in her characteristically sweet way.

"Fortunately not," I replied, with a wry smile.

The next morning, I woke up and stretched, luxuriating in the king-size bed.

"Happy Birthday, Bella," Alice danced into my room, carrying an enormous stack of presents. "I'll give you half an hour to get yourself ready and then we're all coming in here to watch you open them."

I groaned but exactly thirty minutes later, the whole party filed into the sitting room: my mom, my dad, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and Jacob. I felt tense, despite the fact that I was surrounded by the people who know me best in the world. But I smiled and nodded and said thank you as I unwrapped each gift. I wasn't surprised by Alice's gift to me: a beautiful designer dress cut in a classical empire-line style.

"You can wear it tonight," she said happily. "It will look gorgeous on you, once I've done your makeup and fixed your hair."

Jacob's present was a delicate string of freshwater pearls. "Oh, you shouldn't have," I breathed when I opened it.

"I thought it would look pretty with your dress," he said, smiling.

"That's really thoughtful of you," I said. "Thanks, Jake."

"Alice helped me choose it," he answered.

"Jacob!" Alice scolded. "You weren't supposed to tell her that!"

"Oops!" he said, flashing an apologetic smile, as we all laughed.

The time passed quickly and it wasn't long before it was time to get ready for the party. Alice fussed around me, arranging a stray curl and dabbing blusher on my cheeks. "You look beautiful, Bella," she said, dragging me to stand in front of the mirror. I looked at myself; the blue dress draped perfectly on my slim figure and the pearls glistened around my neck, making my skin look even paler than normal. I struggled not to let a tear escape from my eye at the thought of what Edward would think. Blue was his favorite color on me.

"I'll be there in a minute. Jacob's waiting to escort you," Alice said gently.

Jacob was standing outside the room, looking smart in a black suit and a blue tie which matched the color of my dress. He didn't say anything when I came to stand beside him and it wasn't until we were walking up the stairs when he spoke, his voice a little husky, "I hope you aren't sad, Bella."

"No….yes," I said, "Of course I wish Edward was here. I'm his widow and of course it makes me sad."

"Don't describe yourself as a widow. You don't fit the picture. You're a girl, Bella, at the beginning of your life. It's a sin to behave as if it were over already."

"I didn't say it was over, Jacob," I answered sharply. "I merely stated a fact."

"Let's not argue, not today," Jacob said, with a pleading tone. "I want you to be happy. That's all I have ever wanted for you, Bella."

I let the subject drop. We had arrived at the party room and I gasped in delight at the decorations. Vases of flowers were everywhere and the air was filled with the sensuous aroma of lilies and roses. The party was being held in a large spacious room with a balcony and terrace, overlooking the center of New York City in all its splendor of lights and skyline. The family had assembled in the room and although I knew I was amongst family, I felt nervous at the prospect of being the center of attention. Like my dad, I was more comfortable on the sidelines. When Alice skipped into the room, music started playing and the party immediately went into full swing. Waiters appeared, carrying trays of canapés and champagne glasses.

"Come on, Bella," my mom said, passing me a glass of champagne. "I can't believe my baby is twenty-one. It doesn't seem long since your 5th birthday party when I was handing round apple juice boxes, and now look at you, all grown up."

"Oh Mom," I said, laughing and sipping my champagne. It was pleasantly cool and the bubbles added to my already light-headed state.

The evening passed in a whirl of dancing and laughing and as midnight drew closer, I stepped out onto the balcony to get some fresh air. Despite my thin silk dress, I was flushed from the heat and noise of the party. I gazed out over New York from the vantage point of the balcony and for the first time in two years I felt nearly at peace with the tumultuous grief-stricken events of my brief marriage. I heard footsteps behind me; "Mom?"

"Are you okay, Bella?" Jacob answered.

"Oh! I thought you were Renêe," I said. "Yeah, I'm just getting some air. It's so hot in there."

Jacob stepped a little closer and for some stupid reason, I felt my heart rate increase. _Why?_ I thought crossly. **_Why_**_does my body have to do this?_

"I hope you have had a good birthday, Bella," Jacob said quietly.

I nodded my head, without speaking. Suddenly…I don't quite know how it happened…we were facing each other, just two paces apart, and in one swift movement I was in Jacob's arms and his face was close to mine…_too close_, I thought hazily as our lips touched. I don't know whether it was the NYC atmosphere or whether it was my intake of champagne which caused my unsteady woozy state but suddenly everything was behind me and the only thing I was conscious of was being held in Jacob's warm embrace.

Then I became aware of a presence in the doorway: Alice had appeared. Returning to reality, I abruptly pulled away from Jacob, realizing what I had done.

"Alice!" I said, my voice breaking and then rising in tone. "You planned this, how could you? How could you let me betray Edward's memory like this? I knew it! You've all been plotting for this to happen, haven't you?"

My angry voice cut through the air and Alice came to stand beside me, her usually cheerful face looking irritated. "No, Bella," she said. "I did not '_plan_' this and you did not betray Edward's memory. I think you should acknowledge your true feelings…"

I interrupted, "Acknowledge _what_ 'true feelings' exactly?"

Alice continued, "It is what Edward would have wanted for you. He will always be your first love and he will always be in your heart but you mustn't feel as if you can't have a life now. You have to stop denying your emotions, Bella."

I became aware that tears were rolling down my cheeks and I pushed past Jacob, wiping my cheeks angrily. "I'm going to bed," I said. "Thanks for the party, but I'm tired now."

I couldn't just leave and run to throw myself into my bed and curl up into oblivion. I wanted to do that. I desperately wanted to return to my room to find some peace and a space in which I could let the tears pour down my face. But inside, away from the balcony, the party was still lively and active. It would have been rude if I had left so abruptly. I composed myself as best as I could but I've always been a bad liar and I know I wasn't putting on a convincing act. No one said anything, however. Apart from Alice, Jacob and me, nobody knew what had taken place outside on the balcony. They probably just thought I had imbibed a glass or two too much of champagne and was becoming drunk and emotional.

Finally, the party started to wind down and at 3 am I crawled into bed. My mind was full of conflicting feelings. I was angry at myself for letting myself give into the feelings which had propelled me towards Jacob but in the back of my mind, a little voice whispered to me about how _right_it had felt. I quickly dismissed it as I restlessly tossed and turned in bed. The hotel room was hot and I kicked back the sheets but at 5 am I finally gave up on being able to sleep. I got up and put on my bath robe. I planned to go see Alice and talk with her as I desperately needed someone so that I could vent and let out my jumbled emotions. I tiptoed down the hotel corridor: I didn't want the other Cullens to come join Alice and me in our early morning soiree. Alice's bedroom door was ajar so I pushed it gently and it swung open. Maybe this was a bad idea, I thought to myself. I had totally forgotten that she was, of course, sharing a room with Jasper, and I blushed to myself as I realized what I might be interrupting. Then I heard a noise. A _snore_? It was definitely and unmistakably the sound of someone snoring. Jacob. The door had fully swung open and I saw him peacefully asleep. I don't know what made me do it; maybe it was the champagne, but I _needed_to be close to someone and so I sat down on the comfortable couch and watched Jacob sleep. Before long, the warmth of the hotel room, the faint noise of the traffic outside and Jacob's rhythmic snores lulled me into a champagne-and-tiredness fueled stupor.

"Bella?" Jacob's voice broke through the fog of my sleep. At first, I thought I was dreaming. "Bella, are you okay?"

"What the…?" I began sharply, before the realization of last night hit me, along with a thumping headache. I remembered walking along the corridor to find Alice's room but anything beyond that was a complete blur. I guess that's what you get when you overindulge with champagne at your twenty-first birthday party. I sat up on the couch, rubbing my eyes as my head throbbed, and awkwardly avoiding eye contact with Jacob. There was an uncomfortable, uneasy silence between us.

"I'm not complaining or anything, but what areyou doing in my room?" Jacob said.

"I…uh…wanted to talk to Alice last night and I think I had too much champagne, and yeah, I somehow ended up here," I said, stumbling over my speech.

"Oh."

I wasn't sure how to respond to his monosyllabic answer so I got up from the couch and hastily headed to the door.

"See you later," he said.

"Yeah," I answered, feeling awkward and embarrassed as I left the room. _Oh my gosh...what have I done?_

**Author's note: Yes, Bella, what **_**have **_**you done?**

**What do you think of the latest development in the story? I'm going to offer an incentive to those who leave reviews...for everyone who reviews the story I will give you a little sneak peek of what is to come in the next couple of chapters.**


	6. Chapter 6 Rejection

**Author's note: This chapter ends very differently from how I originally intended it to end. I hope you like it! Please R&R. :) Chapter Seven is coming soon...**

**Copyright declaration: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's note: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.**

**Chapter Six**

– **Rejection –**

Forks seemed even smaller after my visit to the Big Apple. I had tasted the apple and now it was like an eviction from the Garden of Eden after biting into the forbidden fruit. But even though I loved NYC, I realized that maybe Forks was the best place for me. I never expected to stay here for so long and I knew I would have to leave someday but for now, it was home.

A few days after my return from New York, I had an unexpected visitor. When I opened the door, Sam Uley stood on the front step. "Oh," I said in surprise, "Hi Sam, how are you doing? You'd better come inside. It looks like we're going to have a rainstorm any minute now."

Sam followed me into the kitchen and I occupied myself putting the kettle on and making tea for both of us.

"Can I have a word with you, Bella?" he said, his tone serious.

I turned around, "What's wrong? Is Jacob okay?"

"Jacob's fine but I need to talk to you about him."

I sighed and sat down heavily, irritably thinking _"what __**now**__?"_

"I know what happened between you and Jacob when you were in New York," Sam began, apologetically. "Sorry, it's hard to keep anything private in the wolf pack."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I guess it kind of sucks that every thought you think gets shared with the rest of the pack when you phase."

"It's not always easy when privacy is involved," Sam agreed, smiling and then becoming serious again. "And I am sorry for intruding but I have to say this to you, Bella. I know that you feel something for Jacob and I don't know if you plan to reciprocate his feelings, but it can't happen. If you become a couple and Jacob imprints on some other girl, he would leave you. You've seen the heartbreak which I caused Leah when I imprinted on Emily. I hated myself for doing it to her but I couldn't stop it. Imprinting is not a voluntary process. And that is why a relationship between Jacob and you can't happen, _**ever**_."

Sam paused for breath and I spoke, "Thank you for your advice, Sam. I know you mean well."

"I'd just hate to see you hurt again," he said. "You deserve happiness, Bella."

"I appreciate you caring. I really do, Sam," I said. "But please don't worry about me. There's no need."

he said quietly. "I just needed to speak to you but I have interfered too much."

"No, no," I shook my head. "You haven't interfered, honest."

"I should go now anyway," he said. "Emily's probably waiting for me to get back to La Push for lunch. See you later."

"Bye, Sam," I said as I closed the front door.

His words ran through my mind: _"a relationship between Jacob and you can't happen, ever"_. Can't, can't, can't…the word rang through my head. The more times anyone says I can't or shouldn't do something, my stubborn personality trait kicks in and the more inclined I am to do it. After marrying a vampire and discovering facts which most of the world population thought of as myths and fantasies, the limits of what was and wasn't possible were stretched wide open. I knew what I had to do as I grabbed my car keys and ran out the house.

When I got to La Push I parked my car outside the garage at Jacob's house. Unless he was out with the wolf pack, I knew the garage would be the most likely place for him to be. Sure enough, when I got out of the car, there he was. We had barely spoken to each other since that night in New York a week ago and the atmosphere between us was still uneasy. But he invited me into the house and said, "Billy's out so we have the place to ourselves for an hour or two. Have you had any lunch?"

"Not yet," I said.

"Do you want any? I was just about to get a sandwich for myself but I can easily fix one for you as well."

"Okay," I nodded. "Thanks."

My stomach was in knots and I had no idea how I would manage to actually eat lunch but it seemed rude to refuse. Jacob made the sandwiches and we talked about mundane stuff until he suddenly began, "I know Sam visited you this morning."

"Yeah, he did."

"That was one awkward conversation."

I smiled, "Yes, it was, but it's made me realize something which I have been fighting against for a long time."

Jacob said nothing; his back was turned to me. I got up from the table, nervously…slowly, my heart beating faster and faster as I walked across the floor to stand beside him.

"I love you, Jacob Black," I whispered the words.

He turned to me and my heart skipped a beat at his expression as he spoke, "I don't know what to say but I don't think you're ready for this."

"What do you mean?" I said, my voice shaky.

"I just…think we need some space and time, Bella," he replied. His tone softened: "Look at you. You're still grieving for Edward. I don't think you're sure what you want."

"I _am_ sure," I protested. My tone sounded like I was pleading with him.

"Are you?" he said. "Or are you just trying to get me before anyone else does, before I imprint?"

I took a step back, stung by the harsh words that he uttered. I could feel my eyes beginning to fill with tears as I ran out the door and jumped into my car.

"I'm sorry," he said.

But I slammed the driver's door shut and revved the engine as I sped away from the house. I could see him in my rear-view mirror but he became just a foggy outline as more and more tears dripped down my face and I drove away.

**Author's note: oh dear, poor Bella…what do you think? Why has Jacob rejected her so harshly after he has been in love with her for so long? **

**The next chapter will be from Jacob's point of view. But I will switch back to Bella's POV after that. **


	7. Chapter 7 Pathetic

**Copyright disclaimer:**** The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Hey guys! How are you doin'? Got all the Christmas shopping done, I hope. :) Here's an early Christmas present for you, in the form of two more instalments of the story. I hope you like them. There won't be any more chapters until after Christmas because it's Christmas Eve tomorrow and I'm way too busy to write but I will upload Chapter Nine sometime next week!**

**This story now has nearly 1000 hits but only 4 people have left comments/reviews….come on, you can do better than that! Please review or just say what you feel about the story so far and it will brighten up my day. I'm really interested in what my readers think of the characterization of Bella and Jacob in this story. :)**

**A little note about these two chapters: the first is from Jacob's point of view and the second is from Bella's but they are both set at the same time, giving you a simultaneous insight into what's running through Jacob and Bella's minds the morning after Jacob's rejection of Bella. **

**Also, I listened to a song called _Long Way Down_ by the excellent band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, when I was writing these chapters. If the scenes from the following two chapters were in a movie, _Long Way Down_ would be the song I'd choose for these scenes as it perfectly matches the melancholic mood I tried to create here and the lyrics are very appropriate.**

** It's on YouTube - go have a listen, maybe whilst you're reading Chapters 7 & 8? **

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><p><strong>JACOB'S P.O.V.<strong>

**Chapter Seven**

**- Pathetic –**

Pathetic. That's how I'm feeling right now. A pathetic useless jerk.

I woke up early after a night of uneasy sleep, with the same thoughts running through my head, over and over and over. I wonder how Bella is, what she's doing. Did she sleep as restlessly as me? Maybe she didn't sleep at all. There were several times last night when I lay awake, watching the numbers change on the digital clock which stood by my bed…3:47, 3:48…4.59...

I hated myself for what I said yesterday. I pictured the scene: Bella's voice trembling as she said, _"I love you"_ , her sweet chocolate eyes as they filled with hurt and pain when I callously rejected her words…

The girl I have loved since the time when we met on First Beach, the girl who I thought would never even come close to being mine, the girl who knows me better than anyone else…she offers me her love and I throw it away like I'm casually tossing something in the trash. Maybe I'm crazy. Yeah, that would fit. Crazy and pathetic and stupid.

I didn't want to admit it to myself but I was afraid of getting hurt again. Before, when Bella was with Edward, it felt like hell. And the few times when I let myself believe that she really wanted me? Turns out she didn't and I was left on my own, licking my wounds again. So when she expressed her feelings for me yesterday, I was instinctively wary of what was coming next. What made her suddenly want me? Was it because of Sam saying that I might imprint on someone else? Had that made her jealous? No, Bella's not the jealous type.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. Pull it together, man. But I can't. I just badly hurt the person I love most in the world. I need to fix this but I don't know how. Should I call her? But then what would I say? I imagined a conversation with her in my head:

_Hey Bella, it's Jacob._

_Hi. _

Or maybe she wouldn't even get that far. Maybe she'd slam the phone down as soon as she heard my voice, the way she slammed her car door shut yesterday.

_Umm, I want to apologize for what I said yesterday. I know I was a jerk._

_Right._

_And I didn't mean it. Honest. I'm just wary of being hurt again._

The words sounded so lame and I tried to think of another way to fix this broken situation. Should I show up at the house? But I didn't know where she was: at the Cullens' house or at her dad's. So that ruled out the possibility of going to see her face-to-face and apologizing. I didn't even know if I would be able to find the words for what I wanted to say. During everything she went through – Edward's death, losing the baby – I was there for her and then yesterday I let her down.

I sighed deeply and picked up my cell phone.


	8. Chapter 8 Sad

**Copyright disclaimer: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's note: Two words: Please review!**

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><p><strong>BELLA'S P.O.V.<strong>

**Chapter Eight**

– **Sad – **

I woke up to rain. It poured down outside my bedroom window, running in torrents down the window panes, and it exactly matched how I was feeling. I stayed over at my dad's house last night as I couldn't cope with the idea of telling the Cullens what had happened. Charlie was delighted to have me there but his happiness soon evaporated when he saw my face with my eyes puffy and red from crying.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he'd said anxiously.

I shook my head and said "Nothing, Dad. It's okay, honestly."

He had not pushed me to talk further but simply nodded and said, "Okay Bells. But if you need to talk, I'm here."

I couldn't get up out of bed. Charlie had left for work and so I stayed in bed, thinking about what Jacob was doing. How had he slept? My sleep last night was filled with fretful dreams. More than once, I dreamed of Edward. He was holding me in his arms and then suddenly he was gone and I felt myself falling down, down into a dark, black oblivion. That was the point when I woke up at 4 am with my chest heaving, my breathing ragged and uneven. And then I would return to reality. Edward was gone. Jacob didn't want me.

My cell phone was sitting on my night stand, tempting me. I flipped it open and shut, open and shut. Jacob's number was on speed dial. It would be so easy to call, just to hear his voice… My thoughts were filled with him, filled with distress and lack of understanding about why he had so harshly rejected me yesterday. He hadn't behaved like Jacob, like my Jacob. It was as if he had built up a defensive wall between me and the real Jacob. A cold icy fear crept into my mind: had he imprinted? I don't know how I would cope if he imprinted on some girl. He would never again be my Jacob: the Jacob I with whom I laughed, the boy with whom I felt so at ease, the guy with whom I could share every little feeling, every concern that I had…

I knew what happened when a member of the pack imprinted: all of a sudden no one else featured in their life. I had seen that with Sam and Emily - so wrapped up in each other. Now my mind was going crazy, considering the possibility that maybe Jacob _had _imprinted and he would be lost to me forever.

My car was sitting outside, parked on the driveway. It would be so straightforward to just jump in, turn the key and drive down the highway to La Push. But something held me back. What would I do when I got there? Go to Jacob and grovel at his feet, begging him to take me? Plead with him to change his mind? No, I've gotten pretty used to coping with what life has thrown in my path. Get over it, move on…

Then the phone rang and my heart jumped.


	9. Chapter 9 Apology

**Copyright declaration: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

**Author's note: Here's a pre-weekend treat for you! Enjoy this chapter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

– **Apology –**

I knew it was Jacob even before I picked up the phone and said, "Hello, Bella Cullen speaking".

"Bella," he said, and then there was silence, as if he was stumbling over the words in his mind, trying to form a complete and coherent sentence.

"Hello Jacob," I replied, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

"You sound so tired."

Whatever I had been expecting him to say, it certainly wasn't that.

"Of course I'm tired, you idiot," I snapped into the phone. "I haven't slept this bad since…since Edward died."

"I know, I know. And I'm sorry."

"I don't understand you, Jacob. What the hell are you phoning me for? You made your feelings clear yesterday. Can't you just leave me in peace now?"

"I want to say I'm sorry."

"Oh really? And I suppose you want me to accept your apology and then you'll say that you've decided that you really do want me after all. And you expect me to just come running to your side when you call for me? Make up your mind, Jacob!"

There was a brief pause before he spoke.

"Bella, I behaved badly yesterday. And I really am sorry for what I said to you. I just…it was just such a shock to me. I've been fighting against my feelings for you for so long."

"I don't understand why you didn't reciprocate anything I said."

"I don't know. It's hard to explain. But I worry about what could happen between us if we have a relationship. I can't give you what Edward could. I'm not college-educated, I'm not wealthy, I still live with my dad…"

I interrupted, "I don't care, Jacob."

"But you might in the future," he said sadly. "Look at your mom and dad. Renée left Charlie because she didn't like the whole 'small town, marry your high school sweetheart' type of thing. And I imagine the same thing happening if we were married."

"It wouldn't," I said emphatically.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm not Renée and you're not Charlie. We're not the same. Our lives are _totally _different."

"But I might not be able to give you what you want."

"Jacob, since when are you so insecure? I want _you_. I don't care about fast cars and money. Please…I need you."

"I need you too, Bella," he said quietly.

"I'm coming to La Push," I decided abruptly. "Stay right there."

I was still in my pajamas. My hair was a mess, my teeth weren't brushed and I had black smudges of mascara smeared all over my face. I ran to the bathroom and showered before throwing on an old pair of jeans and a scruffy T-shirt. A hurried brush of eye shadow and flick of mascara and I was good to go.

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><p>When I arrived at La Push, it felt like déjà vu.<p>

"Take two," I joked as I walked through the door. "And…action!"

Jacob was in the kitchen, making sandwiches.

"Sheesh," I grumbled melodramatically. "This really is like déjà vu. How can you be thinking of something as mundane as lunch when the love of your life just walked through the door?"

"I'm hungry!" Jacob protested, laughing.

"Well, that can wait. I want you to listen to me."

"Yes, ma'am," he saluted me.

And it was at that moment, with Jacob laughing and goofing around, that I knew I was making the right choice. His eyes met mine and suddenly no words were needed. We kissed slowly. His lips were soft and his kiss was so gentle and tender that for some inexplicable reason I felt tears pricking at my eyes. My heart beat increased and my hands moved to his shirt buttons. He broke off the kiss before I could get very far.

"Let's do this properly, Bella," he spoke, with mock sternness in his voice and I rolled my eyes as he bent down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

"I will."

He smiled, beaming with happiness. "I can't believe this is happening. It's like a dream."

"Oh, I can show you it's absolutely not a dream," I said tenderly as my hands moved to his shirt again.

"Bella," Jacob said, nodding towards the door. "I don't think this is a very good idea right now."

The kitchen door had opened and Jacob's father, Billy Black, sat in his wheelchair as my father pushed open the door and helped Billy through.

"Bella!" Charlie and Billy said in unison with surprised voices as they noted the position in which Jacob and I were frozen: his hands clasped around my waist and mine on his shirt. We jumped apart awkwardly, both of us speaking at once.

"We were just about to eat lunch," I said quickly, gesturing towards the half-prepared sandwiches.

"Can I get you and Charlie any lunch?" Jacob said.

"Yeah, that would be great," Billy answered. "So, how are you, Bella? I haven't seen you round here for a long time."

"I'm really good," I said, euphoria threatening to overflow and making my voice sound higher than normal.

"Are you sure you're okay?" my dad asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

Jacob brought the sandwiches to the table and spoke: "Bella and me have an announcement to make."

"You're pregnant," Charlie said to me immediately with a concerned expression on his face.

"No, Dad, I'm not pregnant," I laughed, before quietly whispering to Jacob so that no one else could hear, "although if Charlie and Billy hadn't come in the door at that moment, I probably _would_ be pregnant by now."

Jacob snorted into his sandwich and we both collapsed in fits of laughter. Charlie and Billy looked at us in bemusement.

"We're engaged!" I blurted out. "Jacob and I are going to be married."

There was silence for a moment as the news sank in and then Charlie grinned. "I am so pleased for you both!" he said as he hugged me tightly and we smiled at each other. "Have you decided on a date for the wedding yet?"

"Hey, give the girl a chance," Jacob said, laughing. "We only just got engaged."

"I don't want a big wedding though," I said, "so it will be within the next few months."

"That's great news," Charlie said happily, before he left the house to return to his afternoon shift at work. "See you later, Bells."

Billy had been silent throughout this conversation, his face grave. Jacob and I both knew what he was going to say and we stood beside each other, waiting.

"I'm not going to pretend that I am not happy for you both, because I _am_ happy," he began, "but this decision you have made is not going to be an easy path to follow. There's no need for me to repeat what Sam has already said but I want you think very carefully about what you are doing."

"Neither of us is changing our minds," I said.

"I am not trying to get you or Jacob to change your mind," Billy said, "but something needs to change. As long as he regularly phases, Jacob could imprint on someone and then your future together wouldn't _be_ a future."

"I know, Dad," Jacob said. "But..."

Billy interrupted. "There is a way to resolve this. It would mean you moving away together, away from any vampire covens. The presence of vampires makes it possible to phase and imprint but when their presence is removed Jacob will cease to have the ability to phase. He will become a normal human again."

"But you can't manage if I'm not here, Dad," Jacob said, his tone anxious.

"It would be difficult," Billy acknowledged. "But I have plenty of friends in La Push who can assist me when I need it."

"I should go," I said, sensing that Jacob and his dad needed some time to talk. "I want to tell the Cullens the news."

"Don't stay too long," Jacob responded, kissing me lightly on the lips before I walked out the door.

I jumped in my car and drove away with a huge smile on my face; a huge contrast from the scenario yesterday. But something was niggling at my mind and I realized I was worried about my mom's reaction. She was fine when I told her about my engagement to Edward but that was different somehow. Edward was rich, college-educated, intoxicatingly handsome… Now I was engaged to a mechanic from La Push with the intention of settling down and keeping house. I dreaded to think what Renée would say about that.

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><p><strong>AN – although it might seem like everything is working out for Bella and Jacob, there's plenty more drama in store for them! Chapter 10 will be up very soon.**


	10. Chapter 10 Announcements

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry I haven't uploaded anything for eons. I've had a very stressful time because my mom's been ill and I've been worried sick. But I'm writing more of this story now and will start frequently uploading new chapters again.**

**Here is the next chapter in the story. I know it's not very exciting but the drama will start soon! And thank you so much for reading. I would love to hear your thoughts on anything to do with this story: whether you like or dislike my writing style, the plot, the characterization...anything! Please share your thoughts by leaving a review.**

**Copyright disclaimer: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended**

**Chapter Ten**

– **Announcements –**

"Hi Mom," I said.

"Bella! It's great to hear your voice. How are you?"

"I'm great, yeah. But I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" Renée said.

"I'm marrying Jacob."

There, I had said it. Three simple little words. There was a silence on the end of the phone and I waited with bated breath to see what my mom would say.

"Oh my! Congratulations, honey!" was the _last_ thing I was expecting to come out of her mouth.

"Thanks," I said. "But I thought you'd be…"

"What?" she laughed. "You thought I'd scold you? Honey, you're twenty-one. You're a fully-grown adult and you can make your own decisions. You're much more mature than I was at your age and I'm proud of you."

"Thanks, Mom. That means a lot."

"When's the wedding?" was the next thing that she said and I smiled at her eagerness.

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><p>"Jacob and I are engaged to be married," I said, addressing the room of expectant faces. Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle all burst into congratulatory messages, hugging me and smiling<p>

"I'm so happy for you, Bella," Esme said, her beautiful face glowing with gladness and love.

"And we have an announcement of our own to make, Bella," Carlisle said, when we were calm and Alice had finished excitedly trying to make me agree to wear a vintage gown on my wedding day. "We're moving to Canada."

I was taken aback by the shock of his words. My throat was too tight for me to force out any words.

"It's okay," Alice said soothingly as Jasper used his powers to bring calm to the atmosphere around me.

"We have to go," Esme said gently. "None of us is aging and people are starting to notice. We can make excuses about having had cosmetic surgery but it's not possible to make excuses forever."

"We'll miss you, Bella, but you are part of our family now and nothing is going to change that. You are welcome to visit us in Canada whenever you want to," Carlisle added.

"As long as you don't bring the dog with you," Rosalie said.

Esme scolded her, "Don't speak of Bella's fiancé like that!"

"So what shall we do about the wedding?" Alice said, her voice tinkling with the expectation of helping me prepare.

"We won't be able to attend the wedding," Carlisle said.

Alice's face fell.

"As soon as we leave, the wolf pack will begin to lose their powers. After a few days away from the vicinity of our kind, they will no longer be able to shape-shift or imprint," Carlisle said. "And this fact is especially important for Jacob."

"It's okay," Alice said. "But you must promise to have a wedding video made so that we can all see it that way."

"Of course I will," I said. "I just wish you could be there. It feels wrong that you're not. How are we going to explain it to everybody else? My mom and dad are going to think it's strange that you're not there."

"Oh, we'll think of an excuse," Carlisle said. "Don't worry about that."

"Okay," I said, before continuing, "Do you know how long it will take Jacob to stop being able to phase?"

"Well, the ability to phase is fundamentally a defense mechanism when our kind is in the area of the Quileute people," Carlisle said. "So it shouldn't take too long to evaporate. You know when you are nervous and your body instinctively prepares for fight or flight by releasing adrenaline?"

I nodded and Carlisle continued, "I think that phasing is probably similar to that natural defense mode. In the same way that your body can quickly react and adjust to external stimuli, the ability to phase should easily adjust within a short period of time."

"So you mean that as soon as you leave, Jacob will lose the ability to phase?" I questioned.

"Probably not _as soon as _we leave but I would imagine that it won't take long to react, a day or two maximum, in my opinion," Carlisle said.

"Okay, that's good," I said.

"And until then, it would be wise to make sure Jacob stays in isolation for a couple days, away from any women, apart from you of course. Just in case he imprinted on someone before his ability to phase wears off," Carlisle finished.

I nodded, "I'll make sure that he does. And when are you moving?"

"Hey, just listen to her," Emmett laughed. "One minute she can't bear for us to leave and the next, she wants us to leave ASAP."

"No, Emmett," I flushed, feeling embarrassed. "I didn't mean that."

"We'll move by tomorrow, since it will make everything easier for you, Bella," Esme said.

"So soon?" I exclaimed. "I am going to miss you all so much."

"We can stay longer," Alice said but Carlisle interrupted, "No. It's best that we leave sooner rather than later."

"Otherwise Jacob will be breaking down the doors to get out of house arrest," Esme joked.

My cell phone buzzed, alerting me to a new text message, and I flipped it open.

_Hey beautiful,_

_Come over to La Push for dinner tonight._

_Jacob. xxx_

"I think your fiancé wants you," Esme said softly. "It's time to say goodbye."

The goodbyes were painfully sad. It felt like the end of an era and although it was a cliché, my life would never be the same again. The people who I loved as my family and who felt like my last tenuous link to Edward were leaving. My heart jolted in my chest as I realized just how much I would miss them.

"Wait," Alice said, as she darted up the stairs and then swiftly returned, carrying a garment bag over her arm. "Promise to wear this on your wedding day. It's vintage Chanel and I want you to have it."

"I promise," I said, embracing her. "Before I go, there's just one thing I want to do."

I headed for the stairs, climbing them slowly as I remembered the first time that Edward had brought me to this house. When I reached the door of his old bedroom, I braced myself against the tears and went inside the room. Nothing had changed since his death. His huge CD collection was carefully arranged and the big gold bed still stood in the middle of the floor. I walked to it slowly and lay down on top of the eiderdown, my face pressed to the pillows. It still smelled of him and I remembered the night he proposed, the nights when we lay beside each other and talked and the nights when he rocked me to sleep, singing softly to me. When I quietly closed the door and went back downstairs, I felt as if something had changed. I had finally allowed myself to accept what had happened and although tears were flowing freely down my face, I was serene.


	11. Chapter 11 Confession

**Copyright disclaimer: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

– **Confession –**

My family, the Cullens, left for their new home in Canada and within three days, the wolf pack was no more. None of the Quileute pack members could phase, no matter how hard they tried. When Jacob cut his hand badly while changing a motorcycle tire, it took weeks to fully heal instead of scarring over within five minutes: further proof that he had lost his shape-shifting powers.

We arranged the wedding quickly; neither of us wanted to wait long. We decided to marry in December because all of my old friends from high school would be home from college for their Christmas vacation and would be able to come to the wedding. I was living at Charlie's house since the Cullens moved and although it felt strange to be back in my old room again, with the unchanged décor and the vivid memories, he had insisted that it would make him much happier than if I moved in with Jacob.

"Oh, Dad," I laughed, when he hesitantly and embarrassedly voiced his concerns. "You're so old fashioned."

"I know," he nodded, his eyes creasing around the corners as he smiled. "But humor your father just a bit longer. It won't be long before I have to let you go again."

"I'm going to be living in La Push, Dad," I rolled my eyes. "It's not like I'm moving to a different continent."

Charlie left for work, passing Jacob, who was on his way to the front door carrying a box of envelopes, "Got your best handwriting ready, Bella?"

"My handwriting is far better than yours," I joked. "I think I'd better write the wedding invites. You can put them in the envelopes for me."

Jacob chatted about his latest mechanical project and his plans to set up a car repair shop and garage in La Push while I wrote out the invites. I'd nearly finished checking off the list I'd written when I came across an unfamiliar name at the bottom, written in Jacob's handwriting.

I looked up at Jacob, "Rose Dimanche. Who is she?"

Something about the way he shifted in his seat and looked at me told me that Rose Dimanche wasn't just an old friend from high school. "Jacob, who is she?"

"There's something I should tell you, Bella. I've been meaning to tell you for a while but I wasn't sure how to bring it up."

He continued to speak. "Not long after Edward died, I met a girl. Rose is the daughter of a friend of my dad's and she brought her car to me to be fixed. I could tell that she liked me. She gave me her number and after a few days, I called her. We met up in Port Angeles and had dinner together."

He paused and I nodded at him to continue. "We dated for a few months and she told me that she loved me."

"Did you say the same to her?" I said quietly.

"No," Jacob replied. "Because it wouldn't have been the truth."

"So you used some girl and let her believe that you were in love with her?" I said, my voice threatening to break.

"It wasn't like that, Bella. Please believe me. I didn't realize that she felt so deeply for me. We slept together and the morning after, she said that she loved me."

"You slept together."

"Yes."

And then there was silence as I tried to wrap my head around this new and strangely shocking piece of information.

"Why is she invited to the wedding?" I said and my voice sounded harsher than I intended.

"Because my father asked me to invite her parents and it would have been rude to leave her out of the invitation," he responded. "Bella, it's not a big deal. I didn't love her and I have no feelings for her."

"When did you stop dating?"

"I broke it off the day after she told me she loved me. I didn't want to be living a lie, Bella. I felt like I betrayed you when I was with Rose."

I turned away from him, trying to make sense of the complex emotions in my head.

"Oh God, Bella, please don't do this. I love you. I've never loved any other girl apart from you."

I knew that I shouldn't feel angry, I shouldn't feel shocked. I had no claim on Jacob then. When he was dating Rose Dimanche I was grieving for my husband and feeling as if I would never come to terms with his death. If, two years ago, Jacob was running around having casual sex, I had no right to judge him. But I couldn't help myself, even though I knew he was never truly in love with anyone but me. It felt strange and wrong to imagine Jacob in bed with another girl, with her arms around him and _her _lips whispering his name.

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><p><strong>Author's note: hope you enjoyed this chapter. Chapter 12 is coming soon! <strong>

**What do you think? Are you shocked or surprised that Jacob dated another girl? Review and let me know your thoughts! :)**


	12. Chapter 12 Upset

**Author's note: hey! Sorry it's taken me such a long time to update. But here's chapter 12 for you to enjoy! Keep reading - chapter 13 (the wedding chapter!) will be uploaded soon. :) And as always, your reviews are appreciated.**

**Copyright declaration**: **The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended**

**Chapter Twelve**

– **Upset –**

It was impossible to articulate my feelings. The revelation that Jacob had had a girlfriend made me doubt the foundations of everything we had been through together. Jacob was at my bedside day and night when I was grieving for Edward and the baby I lost. He stroked my hair, encouraged me to eat…he was there for me. And at the same time, he was going on dates with another girl.

It was so hard to reconcile these two images. But another voice inside my head kept nagging at my mind. Why should I be angry? It's not like he was unfaithful to me. He wasn't even mine then. It felt like I had two armies facing off inside my head and I didn't know which one to root for. Sighing, I picked up the phone and dialed Alice's number. I needed to talk.

"Hi Bella," she said sympathetically when she answered the phone. "I was expecting a call from you. Going through a tough time?"

"How much do you know?" I said.

"I had a vision the day before yesterday and I saw nearly everything," she said. "You looked pretty cut-up about it."

"I _am_cut-up about it, Alice. I…I don't know what to say to Jacob but I feel deceived by him because he never told me before. Why did he have to wait until a month before our wedding to tell me about some girl he dated two years ago?"

Alice paused for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "You know he wasn't in love with this girl, Bella."

"I know," I interrupted. "But that's not the point."

"I think you're shocked by the idea that Jacob could do something like that and have a casual fling with a girl. I think that's why you're upset."

This took me aback. "Really? This is the twenty-first century, Alice. I'm not a prude. But I wish he had told me before."

"But he didn't, Bella. And that was just because he felt awkward and embarrassed about a brief dalliance which had no significance at all. I'm not trying to defend him, Bella, because I think he owes you an explanation. But it's not like he was two-timing you."

"I guess you're right," I sighed.

"I _know_I'm right," Alice said firmly. "Let it go. Trust him. But talk to him about your concerns. Transparency in a relationship is an important thing."

"You sound like a marriage counselor," I smiled as I let my shoulders drop, exhaling and realizing how tense I had been feeling.

Alice laughed as she said, "I think you should go out on a date with Jacob tonight. I'm going to make reservations for dinner for you both and you are going to go and forget about all this. You need to have some fun with him, not keep him at arm's length just because he had sex once with a girl two years ago. Forgive him. Talk to him. And get excited! Come on, Bella, it's not long 'til your wedding."

"Alice," I said, half-heartedly smiling. "What would I do without you to cheer me up?"

"I shudder to imagine," she joked. "Now, call Jacob and get him over to your place. In my vision, I saw that he's moping around La Push like you've left him forever."

"I just needed some time to think," I protested. "Honestly, he didn't have to take it so personally."

"Huh," Alice said incredulously. "I saw what happened yesterday. You practically pushed the poor guy out the door and slammed it in his face."

"I did not!" I said indignantly.

"Hmm, that's debatable," Alice replied, but I could hear the smile in her voice.

When I hung up, I felt so much better. Maybe I _was_ overreacting and making a big deal out of it but Alice had reassured me.

* * *

><p>That night I went out for dinner with Jacob and I could see the relief in his face when I apologized for sounding off at him.<p>

"I'd never forgive myself if I lost you, Bella," he said. "I thought you weren't going to forgive me."

I shook my head. "Oh Jake, that wasn't going to happen. I'm just upset because I'm trying to make sense of the situation. It was a shock."

Jacob looked down at his feet and then at me. "It was stupid and I felt like a jerk for going out with Rose. I've never stopped loving you. And I am sorry. I mean it, Bella."

"I know," I said simply.

As we settled into our seats and ordered our meal, I felt happy to put the past behind us. The restaurant where we were dining was a new place which had just opened in Forks and it was cozy. Candles adorned each table and soft red furnishings gave the room a warm glow. Lilting guitar music played in the background and Jacob and I talked about our futures as we ate.

"You know, I really want to open an auto maintenance garage in the spring time," he said to me. "I think it would be very profitable."

"Well, you should definitely do that," I encouraged him.

"Yeah, but there's the initial financial outlay to consider. Banks are going to be wary of giving me loans because of my age."

"I can help you out," I volunteered. "Carlisle and Esme insist on giving me a monthly stipend which is way more than I really need. I'd be happy to help set up an auto repair shop for you."

"Oh wow! You're amazing, Bella."

I laughed, "I'd do anything for you. You know that."

"I'm so grateful to have you," he said. "And what about you? I don't expect you to play the housewife role!"

"I'd actually like to go to college," I said. "I can do a long-distance course at the University of Seattle. I want to major in English. When I graduate I'd love to set up a bookstore here in Forks. The closest really good independent bookstore is in Seattle and the library here is terrible."

"And I think you will be a great businesswoman," Jacob said.

I smiled, "Yeah, well, there's a long way to go yet but I've got ambition."

And so an evening which had begun with tension ended with smiles and discussion of our dreams for the future.


	13. Chapter 13 Incandescent

**Hey! I'm so sorry it has taken me such a long, long time to get this chapter uploaded. The reason is that my mom is currently unwell and it's very worrying. I haven't had time to think about fanfic but I'm getting back to it now. I hope I have not lost any readers due to the delay for this chapter and I apologize to my current readers. Please bear with me. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited this story and put it on their story alerts - I hope you will enjoy this chapter. As a reward for waiting so long, I promise to upload Chapter Fourteen (which ends on a real cliffhanger!) by this weekend. I have lots of drama planned for this story so keep reading...and leave a review if you can! Thank you. :)**

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Thirteen<strong>

– **Incandescent –**

. It was the morning of my wedding to Jacob Black. The first thing I did once I got out of bed was to dash to the window and draw back the drapes. I was hoping for a day without rain. After all, everyone wants perfect weather on their wedding day, don't they? And I was rewarded with a clear blue sky with just a few white fluffy clouds scudding across it: more like a spring day than a December one.

It didn't take me long to shower. I had decided to keep things simple for the ceremony and so I fixed my hair and makeup for myself, realizing that I missed Alice's enthusiasm for style and fashion. She had sighed in dismay when I told her my plans and had immediately emailed me strict instructions on what to do with my hair. They were surprisingly easy to follow: a simple chignon with a few loose curled strands framing my face. Alice had also chosen the lipstick which she said I was to wear with the dress: a shade of pink which brought out what minute amount of color there was in my pale cheeks.

I slipped on the vintage dress that Alice had given me. It was cut in an elegant European style, like something I imagined would have been worn in Paris in the 1930s or '40s. The white folds of fabric and the delicate lace details hugged my slim waist and flowed gracefully to the floor. It was demure yet sexy and I had absolutely no idea how I would manage to dance in it without tripping over the hem.

It wasn't long before it was time to leave. I completely refused to have Charlie drive me to the ceremony in the police cruiser. So, I had hired a classic 1950s Chrysler in keeping with the vintage theme. One of Jacob's friends decorated it with party streamers and I asked Charlie to be my chauffeur: a job which he gladly accepted. It took only five minutes before we pulled up outside Forks church and I stepped out of the car, holding my bouquet of Christmas roses. The sun shone brightly but it was deceptively cold.

The pastor took me aside to confirm a couple of arrangements for the ceremony and then the moment arrived. Charlie stood by my side and took my arm in his as music began to play, the doors opened and the guests stood. I walked slowly down the aisle. One part of my mind was concentrating on not tripping over but the majority of it was focused on Jacob. He stood at the end of the aisle in his smart black suit, wearing an expression which I knew so well: a blend of love and tenderness for me. When I reached the point where he was standing and Charlie placed my hand on Jacob's, he leaned forward ever so slightly and whispered, "You look incandescent."

Then the marriage ceremony commenced. I found it hard to avoid crying and when I looked into Jacob's eyes, I saw that he was emotional too. We smiled at each other before saying the vows.

_"I, Jacob Ephraim Black, take you, Isabella Marie Swan…"_

When we had our first kiss as husband and wife, I wanted it to never end.

Our marriage ceremony was attended by family members and just a few close friends but for the wedding reception afterwards, it seemed like the lengthy guest list included nearly the whole of Forks and La Push! Jacob and I greeted the guests as they arrived at the hotel near La Push where our wedding party was being held. The room was spacious and had large glass windows overlooking the ocean. The December sun was starting to set, throwing beautiful colors onto the sky. The décor was tasteful and stylish in muted colors of pale blue and cream. Lively music was playing in the background and I was in the middle of welcoming Angela Weber and her parents when I saw a striking Hispanic girl arrive. She smiled at Jacob and I watched him smile back. My attention to my conversation with Angela wavered but fortunately she was interrupted in mid-sentence by the arrival of her boyfriend. I took the opportunity to make a quick getaway and walked over to where Jacob was standing chatting with this girl, who I assumed, could only be Rose Dimanche. I could see how she had seduced Jacob into something more than mere friendship two years ago. Her long black hair hung in soft waves and gently undulated when she laughed or nodded. She was of tall stature and her face was strikingly beautiful with chiseled cheekbones and full lips.

I held out my hand to shake hers and welcome her to the party, even though meeting a girl who had engaged in a one-night stand with my Jacob was far from what I wanted to be doing at the moment. I put on a polite expression and stepped to Jacob's side. But nothing prepared me for the look of utter distaste and revulsion on her face as her eyes met mine, sweeping down my body and back up to my face.

"You've married _her_?" she spat at Jacob.

For a minute there was a stunned silence and then Jacob spoke: "Rose, what the hell is going on?" he said, frowning.

"She's no better than a filthy blood-sucking parasite. I would have expected more of you, Jacob. Mark my words, you're making a _big_ mistake," Rose uttered harshly.

"How dare you speak about my wife like that?" Jacob was really getting angry. "Don't think you can just come in here and spoil our celebrations because you're annoyed that I dumped you two years ago. Move on, Rose, just _**move on**_."

"Jacob," I said urgently as I grabbed his arm. "People are starting to stare."

"I have family members in Brazil," Rose said sharply. "They were employed as cleaners on a private island for a couple on their honeymoon just over two years ago. This girl," and she gestured at me. "She is tainted by her past. You should not trust someone who consorts with vampires."

And with that last sentence, she turned and walked right out the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Did that actually happen?" I said, taken aback by this sudden outburst. I realized that I was physically trembling from adrenaline created by the rush of anger I felt.

"I'm so sorry, Bella dearest. I had no idea…" Jacob's words trailed off as he searched for a way to explain the unexplainable.

"How does she know about vampires?" I said quietly to him. "Did you tell her about the wolf pack and the Cullens?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, of course not."

"Kaure," I said.

"What?"

"She was one of the cleaners who came to Isle Esme. I have a hunch that Rose might be her granddaughter or something. Kaure believed in the cold ones; she believed that the stories were true."

"Which they are," Jacob responded.

"Yes, they are, and Rose obviously believes in them… '_tainted_'. Honestly, how ridiculous!"

I was suddenly aware that our guests were clearly starting to wonder about the tense exchange of words between Jacob and me. Fortunately, the music drowned out our conversation but we must have looked odd, standing together in the corner with uptight expressions on our faces.

"Not having your first lovers' quarrel, I hope?" my mom said, laughing breezily as she passed by.

I rolled my eyes, "No, Mom."

Although I tried to discard my tense emotions, I couldn't shake the feeling that Rose Dimanche was out to get me and that she had not finished causing trouble yet.

* * *

><p>The evening passed quickly, too quickly. I danced with nearly everyone, letting myself move to the rhythm of the music. For what was possibly the first time in my life, I enjoyed dancing in the middle of a crowded room without caring what my dance moves looked like or worrying that I would sprain an ankle. I've noticed that Jacob does that to me; he makes me less inhibited. Of course, the copious quantity of champagne might have had something to do with it too. I imbibed only one or two glasses of it but I have discovered that I am a lightweight when it comes to drinking!<p>

When it was time for Jacob and me to leave the party, on the stroke of midnight, the guests lined up in two rows by the exit door, their arms stretched towards each other to create an archway. Jacob took my hand in his. And then we ran, smiling, under the archway of hands, past each happy face. Jacob's father and my mom and dad were the last in the line. We said emotional farewells to each other.

"Bella, honey, you're going to be _so _happy," my mom whispered as she hugged me.

For a moment, my own throat got all choked up. But then Jacob whisked me off to the awaiting cab and I had no time to feel anything other than pure undiluted joy. We flew from Port Angeles to Seattle, where Jacob had chosen a hotel in which to spend our wedding night, before we flew to Vermont for our honeymoon. When we arrived in Seattle, the city was lit up and glowing with Christmas lights and decorations.

"It's so pretty!" I exclaimed, looking out at the decorated Christmas trees and sparkling displays in shop windows as we took a cab from the airport to the hotel. We arrived and the staff took our luggage up to our spacious room. It was one of Seattle's finest hotels and I hardly dared think about how much a room cost. Our room was beautiful, with a four poster bed, a huge bath and everything anyone could possibly want. But Jacob insisted on paying the bill, saying that it was his wedding gift to me.

"Jake, you shouldn't have. I'm so sorry, I didn't get you a gift," I said, instantly feeling guilty and inwardly kicking myself for not being more thoughtful.

"Bella, _you _are a gift to me," he responded. My stomach flipped with anticipation and pleasure as he leaned towards me. My lips parted and he kissed me on my open mouth. He unbuttoned my dress and slipped it over my head. His hands gently surrounded my waist as I shrugged my shoulders out of my silk chemise. We moved towards the bed and as he made love to me on our wedding night, I felt happier than ever. Later, as we lay drowsily together in a tight embrace, he whispered, "I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, Jacob."


	14. Chapter 14 Plans

**As promised, to make up for the _long_ delay in getting Chapter Thirteen to you, here is Chapter Fourteen already. Enjoy! Please R&R.**

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Fourteen<strong>

– **Plans –**

Our honeymoon in Vermont was perfect and blissful. Our cabin in Vermont was cozy and romantic. It snowed most of the week and, apart from occasionally venturing outside for snow fights and fresh air, we spent our time indoors talking, eating delicious food (who knew Jake was such a good chef?) and making love…a lot. The only thing which could have been improved was the length of the honeymoon: we only had time for a week before going back to spend Christmas with our families. I would have been happy to spend the whole of the holiday season in Jacob's arms but he insisted on flying back to Washington.

"It's a family time, Bella," Jacob insisted one day near the end of the week, as we lay curled up together while snowflakes were falling outside.

I rolled my eyes playfully, "Yes, I _know_. You're going to be a great father someday, with all this talk of family time."

He gently nudged me in the ribs, "A bit too soon for that, isn't it?"

"Yes," I agreed. "I think we need to spend time together, just us, and get our careers sorted before we plan our lives as parents."

"It's snowing again," Jacob said, suddenly sitting up and peering out the window. "We might get stranded here forever."

"Hey, quit the melodramatics," I scolded, pulling the duvet back around me.

"Aye aye captain," Jacob teased before collapsing back down beside me.

I entwined my feet between his and let out a sigh of contentment. Perfect happiness. Even though I never wanted this honeymoon to end, part of me was looking forward to returning to the rainy state I had come to love, because as a wedding gift to us, a house at La Push had been rebuilt and furnished. All we needed to move in.

* * *

><p>After the festive season was over, Jacob wasted no time in getting his plans for an auto repair garage up and running. I was glad to be able to assist him with the financial aspects of his business venture and I was able to hire workmen to help him build the ideal space for his enterprise. It would be based a mile away from Billy's house, close to our own new house down on the reservation. The opening date was set for April 2nd and it seemed like it was all Jacob talked about. I didn't mind though; I was happy to see him so fired up with ideas and plans for the future.<p>

Quil and Embry, two of Jake's best friends, were always hanging out with Jacob down at the site of the soon-to-be completed building. When they weren't down there, it seemed like they were permanent fixtures in our home, especially when they found out where we kept the spare key: buried under a flowerpot in the backyard.

"Hey guys, I think I'm going to have to put a restraining order on you," I joked one afternoon as Jacob, closely followed by Quil and Embry, bounded into the room.

"Me?" Jacob's eyebrows shot upwards.

"No, stupid," I laughed, sending pointed glances in Quil and Embry's direction.

"Aw, Bella," they said. "We just can't resist your home cooking."

"Well, it's not me who's cooking tonight," I replied, as my eyes met Jacob's. "Jake's making homemade pizza, aren't you?"

I dug him in the ribs, "_Aren't_ you?"

"Anything for my beloved wife," Jacob said, sweeping me up off the floor as I giggled and struggled to retain at least a small part of my dignity. Jacob made delicious pizzas whilst he chatted constantly with Quil and Embry about auto repairs and some new fancy car they had read about which had amazing acceleration speeds.

"Sheesh, you guys are such motor-heads," I grumbled as I passed by them on my way to the living room.

"What did you just say? That I'm good in bed?" Jacob raised at eyebrow. And then had to duck before I threw a cushion at him.

"Hey, be careful Bella," Embry leapt to grab the jar of tomato passata before the cushion knocked it off the counter.

Our evening passed with fun and laughter. Quil and Embry were promptly shoved out the door at 10 pm and I locked it behind them.

"Put the bolt on the door, honey," Jacob said.

"Uh huh. And why would we need that?" I said teasingly.

"Ohhhh, just because I want you all to myself."

And that time, I did not protest as Jacob lifted me up into his arms.

* * *

><p>Jacob's garage scheme was making good progress and meanwhile, I was making my own plans. I had been accepted to my chosen college online course and I was busy buying textbooks and doing the required preliminary reading. Despite the fact that I was not officially leaving home and going off to a college campus, I felt excited about this new phase in my life. For a few weeks, my mind was focused on achieving the best I possibly could. I worked hard, keeping rigidly to my schedule, and it seemed like everything was going well. I was happily married, my husband would soon be the proud owner of a business and I was on track to getting my college degree. We had a perfect, albeit small, house and we were not troubled by lack of money.<p>

But then I woke up one morning feeling tired and ill.

"It's just a bug, sweetie," Jacob said, as he tucked the bedcovers around me and gave me tea and toast.

"Yeah, I know," I said. "I just hate feeling like this when I've got so much work to do."

"That's probably why you got sick in the first place. You've been working way too hard," Jacob said firmly.

"But I've got a paper to write which needs to be turned in next week," I complained.

"Doesn't matter," he replied. "You need to get well first."

I grumpily agreed to avoid computer work, even though I was sure _not_ working was going to cause me more stress than actually doing the work. After a few days my exhaustion passed and I felt better than ever. I turned in all my papers on time and aced the online tests that my professors set. But then I began feeling sick. And I mean _really_ sick. Jacob was out most days seeing to the marketing for his business and I didn't tell him about my constant nausea. I didn't want to worry him.

_Maybe I've got some strange virus_, I thought as I lay in bed one afternoon. I was home alone and after I had done my college work for the day, I went to bed because it was the only thing that made me feel better. Then the phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. It was Renêe.

"Hey baby, how are you doing?" she said. I could hear the ocean waves in the background and suddenly felt an acute longing for the Florida sun.

"Um," I said, "I'm feeling good."

The contrast between my answer and my actual state was so marked that it was obvious even to someone calling me from a few thousand miles away.

"No, you're not, honey. What's wrong? Is everything okay with you and Jacob?"

"Yeah, Mom. Everything's fine between us. It's just…" I hesitated, wondering what I should say. "I've been feeling so strange recently; first I was exhausted and now I'm nauseous all the time."

There was a silence and then Renêe spoke. "Bella, have you thought you might be pregnant?"

"Well, yeah, it crossed my mind. But Jacob and me have taken adequate precautions so it's hardly likely."

"I wouldn't be so sure, honey," my mom said. "It doesn't always work like that, you know."

My head spun, "No, _no_, I can't be."

"Okay," my mom said patiently. "But it can't hurt you to take a test, just to be sure."

"Okay, I will," I said, suddenly desperate to get off the phone.

"You sound like you need to go digest this. Keep in touch, honey. I love you."

"Love you too," I answered as I clicked off the phone.

Then I snatched up my car keys and drove to the drug store as fast as I could without speeding. I had a couple of hours before Jacob was due home and I suspected that my fate would be sealed, one way or another, by the time he was back. I went to the bathroom when I got home and followed the instructions on the test I had bought. Waiting for a few minutes felt like an hour…I paced from room to room, flicking lights on and off, until the time was up.

My heart raced. And then I found out the truth.


	15. Chapter 15 Unexpected

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

**Warning**: this chapter contains brief, non-explicit references to controversial and potentially upsetting issues.

**Author's note 2: huge apologies for the _long_ delay in getting this chapter to you. I've had a lot of disruption in my own life and it's been difficult to find the time for fanfic. I know I've said this before but I'm going to update this story again soon and you won't be waiting too long for Chapter Sixteen! I'm planning some drama...**

**oh yeah, and it would be AMAZING if you guys took the time to post a review. I know you're reading my story because my stats are high but why the lack of reviews? Come on, take a little time to make a girl smile and post your thoughts! :) **

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><p><strong>Chapter Fifteen<strong>

– **Unexpected –**

I was pregnant. There was no doubt about it. My first impulse was to throw the little plastic stick into the bathroom trash but then my eyes flickered to my watch. Jacob would be home very soon and I did not want him seeing this evidence. He didn't even suspect anything; he just thought that I was tired out from a winter virus and the endless reams of college papers I had been writing. I jumped in my car and drove a few miles down the road before stopping to throw the hateful thing into a dumpster, almost as though by ridding myself of the evidence I could avoid the truth. I sat in my car and stared out the windshield when I arrived back at the house where Jacob and I were slowly, carefully beginning our life together. Last week we had planned what to plant in the garden. I wanted to create a peaceful space with plants which would soak up the wet Pacific Northwest climate and flourish. I envisioned spending lazy summer days with Jacob, without a care in the world. But now I knew this summer I would be achy and huge, probably irritable and fed-up too.

What if my marriage couldn't survive? Negative thoughts kept entering my head until I started to feel unpleasantly dizzy, my mind running riot with the possibilities. It would not be the first relationship ever to collapse because of an unexpected baby. How could I expect Jacob, who wasn't even legal drinking age, to start wrapping his head around the notion of providing for another human being for the next eighteen years? Then there were my feelings. I felt like my life was finally going someplace after two years of despondency and uncertainty. I was acing my college course, I had plans to start a business and I had absolutely no desire to settle down into motherhood in the near future. I knew it would change me but for once in my life, I didn't want change. I wanted everything to stay exactly as it was; I was comfortable in my newly wedded life.

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><p>When Jacob arrived home that evening, I greeted him with my usual cheery smile and kiss.<p>

"Hey, honey, how was your day?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around me.

"Good," I lied. "How was yours?"

"We're nearly ready for the grand opening!" Jacob grinned at me.

"Can't wait!" I said. Something in my tone must have sounded different because Jacob turned to me, "Is everything okay, Bells?"

"Yeah, sure," I said lightheartedly, as I began serving up our dinner. "Why wouldn't it be?

* * *

><p>Later that evening, I lay sleepless beside Jacob. The moon was full and bright as it shone down over the mountains. It illuminated the garden, making ghostly shapes out of the shadows and shining through the thin drapes in our bedroom. Jacob's sleep was undisturbed as I slipped out of bed and down the stairs to the kitchen. I flipped on a light and sat down at the kitchen table. The only sound was the ticking clock, reminding me of my own helplessness, my vulnerability to external forces that no one could change. With every second that ticked its way into minutes, hours, days and weeks, my situation would progress.<p>

A thought crept into my mind. What if it didn't HAVE to progress? A daytrip to Seattle, maybe even Portland, a brief procedure… I let myself be drawn into the possibility. Jacob need never know. We could go on with our marriage as though nothing had happened and I would have learnt a lesson to be more careful about taking precautions next time. I never thought I would find myself in this position, thinking these thoughts, but desperation can drive you to extreme lengths. I took a deep breath and stared out of the window at the full moon, which was now falling behind the horizon as the first light of dawn appeared. A few minutes ticked by and I stood up from the table. I had made my decision.

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><p><strong>AN: Don't hate Bella too much. She's not thinking clearly...**


	16. Chapter 16 Guilt

**Copyright declaration: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended**.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight_fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

**Author's note 2: **First of all, thanks for the reviews I got for the last chapter. And thanks everyone for reading. Here is chapter sixteen. It's just a short little chapter this time before we get into the drama/action! Hope you enjoy.

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><p><strong>Chapter Sixteen<strong>

– **Guilt –**

My heart felt heavy in my chest. Heavy with guilt. The voices whispered in my head: 'Don't do it, don't do it'. For a minute, I pictured Jacob, lying asleep upstairs with his soft black hair on the pillow, oblivious to my inner torment, his arm encircling a space where I should be. Taking a deep breath, I walked up the stairs and pushed open our bedroom door. Unexpectedly, the hinges creaked slowly and loudly, causing Jacob to sit up in bed. He drew a hand across his sleepy eyes and drowsily looked at me.

By now, I felt ill. It's a cliché, I know, but butterflies of nerves and anticipation were going crazy in my stomach. I got into bed beside my husband. "Jacob, I have something….something to tell you."

"I knew it," he said. "You were so wired up last night. But I thought it must be PMS or something."

Despite my apprehension, I laughed. "Oh, no, Jake. I won't be having any more of that for a few months."

"Huh?" his eyebrows creased as he tried to make sense of my words.

"Yeah, that's the good news. You won't have to cope with my mood swings for the next nine months," I teased him. "Well, more like seven months actually."

His mouth dropped open. "Wait…what…what are you saying? Are you…?"

The sentence dangled so I finished it for him: "pregnant. Yes, I am."

For a minute there was silence. And then Jacob looked at me with the biggest smile I've ever seen on his face. My racing heartbeat slowed as I breathed out my relief.

"Oh Bells, that's awesome! I don't know what to say…I'm _so_ happy."

"You are?" I said, slightly weak as the anxiety rush passed.

"Of course! It's the best thing since….I don't know when. You didn't honestly think I would be upset, did you?"

I paused, "Well, yes. I was in a state of shock, Jake. You know, seeing that we've only been married a few months, you're young, and I'll be honest: I was terrified that you'd be disappointed and see this as an obstacle to our freedom and…"

But Jacob interrupted my halting speech by ever so gently rolling me over onto my back. He leant forward and kissed me so deeply that all my thoughts of worry, fear and apprehension at the life-changing news I had just delivered completely evaporated. Jacob stopped kissing me for a moment and looked into my eyes, "Oh, you dear, silly, wonderful person. How could you ever think I'd be disappointed in you?"

My cheeks grew hot, "I know. It was silly. I'm sorry."

Jacob stroked my cheek, "I love it when you blush. You're so pretty. And, honey, you don't need to apologize for anything. You're perfect."

"Trust me, you wouldn't be saying that if you knew the thoughts that were going through my head last night," I mumbled, looking away in my shame as tears began to run down my face.

"Sweetie, it's okay," Jacob murmured. "It's a daunting thing to find out. I understand that. Come on, baby, let's put your worry aside. Whatever you were thinking, I forgive you."

His hand stroked my face and then moved lower, pushing up my cotton pajama top so he could caress my stomach.

"We're going to be parents, Bella, and everything's gonna be just fine."

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><p><strong>AN**: Aww, isn't Jake the perfect guy? But poor Jacob: everything _isn't_ gonna be just fine. He and Bella both have a shock in store for them….keep reading to find out!


	17. Chapter 17 Happy

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight_series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight_fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

* * *

><p>AN 2: Okay, this is just a little fluffy chapter. I'm sure you're all waiting for the action to begin and I promise it will start in the next chapter; I had an idea for a great subplot when I was brushing my teeth last night! Meanwhile, enjoy chapter seventeen. And you know your reviews are always appreciated…I love receiving comments on the storyline, my portrayal of the characters….anything you want to share with me. :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Seventeen<strong>

– **Happy –**

When I woke up lying next to Jacob the next morning, everything seemed so right. I was peaceful and happy as I lay there with thoughts whirling through my head. The storm of my worry had passed and now I simply felt excitement. Most of all, I wanted to tell the world. I have heard some women prefer to keep their pregnancy news quiet until they are ready to tell others but I was longing to tell my family. Charlie, Renêe, the Cullens….I knew all of them would be overjoyed to hear the news.

First, though, I booked an appointment with the OB-GYN. Jacob was uncharacteristically anxious about my doing so: "We've gotta get everything checked out, make sure everything's okay before we start telling people."

"Stop fussing, Jake," I said, playfully running my fingers through his dark hair. "There's no need to worry. Goodness only knows what you'll be like during the actual birth!"

The appointment was on a chilly afternoon at the end of February. Jacob drove me to the OB-GYN office in town and we went in together. I fidgeted as we sat in the waiting area. Medical environments made me nervous: the product of bad associations with them. When my name was announced and I went into the doctor's office, I felt worse. The white walls seemed to close around me, shrouding me with the sterile, clinical atmosphere. It made me flashback to the time after my honeymoon with Edward, when Carlisle examined my rapidly growing abdomen in a room which was so very similar to this one. For a minute, I was Bella Cullen again, carrying my beloved Edward's child.

"Mrs Black, are you okay?" Dr Roberts said. "You look a little dizzy there."

Jacob lightly squeezed my hand and I landed back in the present moment, tearing myself away from my past. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Just a little tired. And please call me Bella, I'd prefer that."

"Sure, tiredness is perfectly normal in the first trimester," the doctor smiled reassuringly. "It's a sign of your body adapting to all the changes going on. Okay, Bella, I have your medical records here. Can you just scan through them and check everything is up-to-date?"

She handed me a wad of papers and I leafed through them, smiling at the records of my numerous hospital and ER visits. "I'm not the most graceful of people, as you can probably see," I joked. "I've had more hospital visits than most."

Dr Roberts smiled as I handed the medical notes back to her. "Now, Bella, I have a few questions for you about your health history and then with your permission I'd like to run a few tests, just to check everything is okay. Firstly, have you been pregnant before?"

I swallowed hard before answering, "Yes, I was but I had a miscarriage."

"I'm sorry." the doctor said gently. "Can I ask how many months you were when that happened?"

"Um, I guess I was at the three or four month stage."

"Okay. Thank you, Bella. I'm sorry to have to ask these personal questions. Based on your previous medical history, I think it would be a good idea to schedule appointments with me once a month and we can make sure everything is progressing smoothly."

"Are you concerned that it might not?" I asked, with a tinge of worry in my voice, and Jacob looked anxiously at the doctor.

"From my point of view, everything seems fine but I always like to do this when women have had problems with previous pregnancies. It is standard procedure, Bella. Please don't be alarmed."

"I…um…I should tell you about what happened before," I began hesitantly.

"If it's difficult for you to talk about it, I have everything I need to know," Dr Roberts said sympathetically.

"No, it's okay," I said. "It's just painful to look back. My previous husband passed away the day before I miscarried, you see. The shock caused it."

"I'm so sorry to hear about your losses," Dr Roberts answered.

"Thank you," I nodded.

Then, she prepped me ready to take a blood sample and when it was done, smiled at me and told me: "I'm going to send this sample to be tested at the lab but there's no need to be concerned. You look very healthy."

Once she had finished her questions and the other tests, she gave me some leaflets about basic do's and don'ts during pregnancy, handed me a promotional coupon for a recommended multivitamin and then wished me all the best. I scheduled another appointment at reception and then Jacob drove me home.

"I think we should tell people," I said to him, as he was driving. "At least tell my parents and your dad. We can wait before we tell anyone else."

"Okay," Jacob said reluctantly. "I was hoping we could have a few days with just us knowing though. It feels so private."

I smiled, "You're so protective of me, Jacob."

"I love you, Bella," he answered simply. "All I want is to see you healthy and happy and to look after our baby when it comes."

All I could do in response to Jacob's heartfelt words was look at him as moisture began to rise in my eyes.

"These pregnancy hormones are making me emotional," I laughed. "I'm so excited…it feels unreal at the moment. I can't really believe this is happening. It'll be a fall baby. September is a lovely month to have a birthday. Maybe the baby will share my birthday! The due date is only a few days after."

Jacob phoned the workmen and told them he wouldn't be there to supervise the work on his garage today. He told them, "Yeah, I'm not feeling too great. Just a 24 hour virus thing. It will pass." And then he hung up the phone and grinned at me, before sweeping me off my feet and carrying me upstairs where we spent a very pleasant afternoon.


	18. Chapter 18 Bump

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2**: Hey everyone. Thanks for reading and reviewing. This chapter has been ready for a while but I've been unwell for the past 10 days and I haven't been thinking much about fanfic. I'm only just starting to get better. But if you leave me a chapter review (*hint hint*), I'll feel much better. ;-) Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p><strong>Chapter Eighteen<strong>

– **Bump –**

As the weeks passed, my stomach grew. I had to discard my favorite items of clothing – jeans and fitted T-shirts – and buy loose-fitting, unrestricting tops and maternity pants. I also wore dresses more often than I usually did. I have never enjoyed wearing dresses much; they are usually impractical, especially in the rainy Pacific Northwest. When I came downstairs to show Jacob a blue figure-fitting wraparound dress that really showed off my growing bump, he whistled and smiled, "You should wear that more often, Bells."

"I think I will," I said as he wrapped me into his arms and tenderly kissed my forehead. Clearly, motherhood was changing me in more ways than one.

Everyone was delighted to hear the news. I told my mom before I told everyone else. She was curious to hear the outcome of the pregnancy test but, with a surprising amount of tact, she kept her eagerness under wraps for two weeks until finally she simply could not bear it any longer. Coincidentally, she phoned me just before I was about to get in the car to go to the OB/GYN office. Jacob was outside waiting and I called out to him, "Two seconds, honey. My mom's calling."

"Hey," Renêe said. "How are you, sweetie?"

"Great," I said, and meant it.

"Well, I guess you know why I'm calling," my mom replied and I could practically _hear_ her smiling three thousand miles away. "And I'm guessing that your answer to my question means that my suspicions are confirmed."

I paused for a second as I pondered how to answer. Then, stumbling slightly because it was only the second time I had uttered those few precious words, I blurted: "I'm having a baby."

Renêe's squeal nearly broke the sound barrier, "Oh, BELLA! I am so so happy for you. Have you told anyone else?"

"Only Jake, of course. Can you keep it quiet for a few weeks, Mom? I'm going to tell the rest of the family very soon but I'm about to go to my OB/GYN appointment. And I want to be sure that everything is okay before I announce it to the world."

"Of course, baby. Oh my goodness, that's amazing news. But I'm too young to be a grandparent yet, honey. Couldn't you have waited a few years?" Renêe gushed.

"MOM!" I exclaimed. "You know this wasn't planned. But the baby will be loved just as much anyway."

"Honey, I was joking. I didn't mean to offend you," Renêe backtracked. "Give my love to Jacob, won't you? And my congrats to you both."

Jake honked the horn outside and I hastily checked the time. "I've got to go, Mom, or I will be late for my appointment."

"Take care, Bella. Let me know how it goes."

"I will, Mom. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye!"

* * *

><p>When I told the Cullens, I made a video call to them from my computer so they could all see my expanding bump. Knowing Alice, I was careful to make myself look as presentable as possible before I called, with full makeup and a glossy nail polish. I was wearing one of my favorite maternity outfits: a deep red smock top and stretchy dark blue cropped pants.<p>

The Cullens all gathered in front of the computer in their spacious living room and I smiled at them, "I have some news to tell you all. But you probably already know it, Alice."

"I do, Bella, but I haven't told anyone else. I knew you'd want to be the one to tell them," she answered sweetly.

"Thank you for being so thoughtful," I said and then I added. "Well, I might as well tell you straightaway: I'm pregnant."

Then it was as if the screen erupted in front of my face. A ray of sunlight shot through the living room window and the smiling, happy faces of the Cullens sparkled and shone, illuminated by the sunshine. Esme's face stood out, glowing with love, and all of my family uttered effusions of congratulations, well wishes and blessings.

"You must come visit us before the birth," Carlisle said. "It isn't far to travel. We'd happily pay your plane tickets. Jacob is very welcome too but obviously he won't be able to because of the problems he would have with the phasing starting again."

"I'd love to," I said. "I'll have to see how Jake feels about being left to fend for himself for a couple of weeks though! But I'm sure everything will be fine."

I chatted with my family for a while longer and finished the call feeling happy and relaxed. I could not believe how elated I felt to be telling everyone. Now all my family knew and I sent an email round to all my friends. Charlie was delighted to hear but he gruffly stated his old-fashioned views: "Glad you found the time to get married first." Then he wrapped me in his arms in the biggest hug I think he had ever given me. "I'm proud of you, Bells. It hasn't been easy for you these past few years and you deserve happiness."

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><p>But not everyone was so thrilled to hear about my pregnancy news. I was out at the supermarket one day when I briefly looked up from putting a can of tomatoes in the shopping cart. My eyes met a pair of ice gray ones staring back at me. The willowy figure of Rose Dimanche stepped in front of me, looking with disgust at my pregnant belly. My bump was showing now; it was small but visible and the lilac dress I was wearing clung to my precious little bulge, exposing it even more.<p>

"So you're knocked up already, huh?" she said in an unfriendly tone. "Didn't take you long to convince Jake to take you back, did it? Or, let me guess, you seduced him and manipulated him into a shotgun wedding with you?"

"What do you want from me?" I said in a steely tone. Jacob's jealous ex was _not_ about to infuriate me, I was sure of that. I refused to let her wind me up and cause trouble, which was clearly her aim.

She sidestepped the question and moved forward. Instinctively, I covered my stomach with my hands and stood defensively with my chin up and my shoulders back.

"I don't care about your stupid little fantasies, Mrs _Cullen_," she spat. "Pretending to be all lovey-dovey 'oh so devoted' to Jake, with your baby on the way and your white picket fence. You're nothing but a home wrecker."

Her words cut deep, despite the falseness of them. She took advantage of my silence in order to cast her final parting blow: a spear of resentment and fury that she twisted far into me.

"Jake's better off without you. And he will be, soon enough. I'll be watching."


	19. Chapter 19 Obsession

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight _series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

**Author's note**: I have made this as creative and imaginative as possible and if it bears resemblance to any other fan-fiction story it is entirely coincidental. There is such a huge amount of _Twilight _fan-fiction out there that it would be impossible to trawl through it all to see if someone has already had this plot idea and I assure you that if there are any similarities to other Twilight fan-fic stories, they are completely unintentional and inadvertent.

* * *

><p><strong>AN 2: **Hey everyone! I apologize that Chapter Nineteen took a while to produce because my life is so busy! I hope you enjoy, and I'm already writing Chapter Twenty, so you won't have too long to wait. This story is nearing its conclusion and I have lots of drama planned. Enjoy. ^_^

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><p><strong>Chapter Nineteen<strong>

– **Obsession –**

I was shaking when I paid for my groceries and headed to the car. Feeling vulnerable, I flipped the locks down as I sat in the supermarket parking lot and called Jacob. He didn't answer his phone and I felt a twist of panic-induced nausea in my stomach. I tried to slow my breathing but I was anxious and worried. I dialled his number again and this time he picked up on the second ring. I breathed a sigh of relief, "Jake, I need you."

"What's wrong?" he said immediately. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. The baby's fine. Don't worry. But I was out shopping and your ex accosted me."

"Rose?" I could hear the puzzlement in Jacob's voice.

"Yes," I replied. "She's jealous, _very_ jealous in fact. She said some disturbing things."

"Like what?"

I took a deep breath before repeating the threatening words Rose had uttered just a short while ago. "She called me a home wrecker and said you would be better off without me, and that you would be, soon enough."

"What the hell is going on in that girl's mind?" Jacob snorted. "Don't worry about it, Bells. She's just jealous.."

"I'm not so sure about that, Jake. She was verbally threatening me. I think we should call the cops. I'm going to speak to Charlie about it."

Jacob sighed, "I really don't think that will be necessary, Bella."

"Why not?" You're not trying to _protect_ your ex, are you?" I said, with an edge to my tone.

"Of course not. I just don't think we need to involve the law," Jacob said quickly. His tone softened: "You're the woman I want to protect. Rose means nothing to me now."

"You had better not let her hear you say that," I grinned. "She's certain I tricked you into marrying me, with my seductive vampire-like ways!"

Jacob snorted at that, "If she knows me as well as she claims to, she should know that vampires aren't very attractive to me!"

Jake sighed, thinking back to the days when he nearly lost his Bella to a life of cold eternity. He was frantic after Bella told him that Edward would change her after their marriage; frantic with grief that Bella would be lost to him forever. When Edward died, Jacob was caught in an excruciating dilemma between feeling upset for Bella, who retreated into a shell of alternate hysteria and numb shock, and feeling a strange gladness that Bella's plans of a vampire future were over. He wrestled with his thoughts during those weeks and months, feeling like a bad person because he wasn't sorry to see Edward gone but at the same time feeling terrible for feeling that way because Bella was suffering. He pulled himself out of his memories and looked at Bella, standing there in front of him, her sweet lips slightly parted and her round chocolate eyes looking up at him. His stomach twisted as he thought of how he nearly lost all this: Bella's pure, undiluted humanness, with her pink cheeks and her beautiful rounded belly, carrying their healthy child. He brushed a hair from Bella's cheek and bent to touch his lips to her forehead: "Rose is a deluded bitch, Bella. She wouldn't really do anything stupid."

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><p>I lay in bed that night, worrying. Jacob's words had done little to reassure me and I was unhappy with him for passing it off so lightly. If he had only witnessed Rose's outburst of threats himself, I was sure that he would have been as shocked as me. Jacob's snores were constant and I lay, staring at the ceiling. Eventually, I got frustrated at not being able to sleep, and then bored, so I got up and went down to the kitchen to make a cup of tea. I looked out the kitchen window; it was four o'clock in the morning and the moon was only half full so the light outside was minimal. But beyond the dark shadows of Jacob's car and mine, I could have sworn I saw another, smaller shadow darting in between the cars. I rubbed my eyes and the shadow was gone.<p>

"You're going nuts, Bella," I told myself firmly. I drank my tea and headed back up to bed. But before I reached the stairs, I noticed something pushed underneath the front door: a note, written on pink paper, with something stapled to the back. I flipped it over and gasped: a photo. It was a photo of Jake and Rose, his arm slung around her shoulders, laughing. Shaking, I read the note, which was addressed to me: "_Jacob is mine_", it read, "_and you cannot take him away from me, no matter how much you try_."


	20. Chapter 20 Accident

**Author's note: **hey guys, I know I've said this before but I apologize for taking SUCH a long time to update this story. I hadn't forgotten about it. I have just had so much drama going on in my own life that writing fanfic hasn't been at the top of my priorities.

But here's Chapter 20 for you. It has a cliffhanger at the end!

Thanks for reading. Please read & review. :) And you won't have to wait so long for Chapter 21...promise!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty<strong>

– **Accident –**

I ran upstairs and shook Jacob awake, "Jake!"

"Uh," he moaned, rubbing his eyes. "What is it, Bells? It's the middle of the night!"

"I couldn't sleep. My back was aching and I was worrying, so I went downstairs. And _this_ was pushed underneath the door."

I handed him the note and he read it, his eyes widening in disbelief. Then he tossed it in the trash.

"NO! We should keep it, Jake."

"Why?" he shook his head, still looking fuzzy with sleep.

"It's evidence," I said strongly. "We might need it. Seriously, Jacob, this has got to stop. I'm going to call the cops."

"Yes, of course it's got to stop. But I really don't think we should involve the police, Bella."

"I know what you think. And I don't agree."

By now, my lips are pursed with my disapproval of my husband's reluctance to involve the law. I stalked over to the window and sat, crossing my arms and letting out a long breath.

"We need to resolve this, Jacob. I want to call the cops. I'm sick of not having a say in things."

"Huh? What? Are you saying that I'm a control freak or something?"

"Yeah, actually. That is EXACTLY what I'm saying! You seem to think it's okay for your ex to torment me. Personally, I don't think that verbal abuse, bullying and intimidating threats are very good for pregnant women. But maybe you disagree."

"Of course I don't disagree. Bella, I don't understand. You know I only want the best for us."

"Yeah, well, I was beginning to wonder," I snapped. "Most days I throw up; I don't feel pretty, I feel damned awful. The last thing I want is your psycho ex threatening me whenever I go out of the house. And you spend so much time organizing your darned garage that maybe I should just go ahead and have this baby on my own."

"Bella, come on now, please. That's not fair."

I saw the wounded look in Jacob's eyes and attempted to ignore the remorse that was welling up inside me. I didn't mean to make him feel bad. My words were meaningless and I was letting all my angst and worry about Rose out on him. I looked down at the floor, my cheeks reddening. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

When Jacob got out of bed and came over to wrap his arms around me, a solitary tear coursed down my face. I turned to face him, my bump pressing into him. "I don't want anything to hap…oh my God, did you feel that?"

It felt like butterfly wings inside my stomach, a tiny flutter. It stopped momentarily and then I felt it quiver again. I broke into a smile as Jacob beamed at me, "Come on, beautiful. We need to stop fighting. We're waking Baby up."

He picked me up, bridal-style, and I spent the rest of the night curled in his arms, with the promise that he would call the cops tomorrow and sort everything out.

* * *

><p>Charlie gave an official warning to Rose and the next few months of my pregnancy progressed without incident, without any further scares from my own personal stalker. My previous experience of pregnancy made me worry more often than perhaps I should have; I had to remember to remind myself that this pregnancy was so very different. I was carrying a human baby this time. My mom came to stay in August, a month before the baby was due. It was months since I had last seen her and when I drove to pick her up from the airport, her face creased into a massive smile which emphasized the laugh lines around her eyes.<p>

"My baby's having a baby!" she exclaimed, putting her hands on both sides of my now massive bump. "I hope the delivery won't be plural!"  
>"Nope," I shook my head. "I'm definitely not having twins, even though it feels that way sometimes."<p>

We drove home from the airport in Port Angeles, laughing and chatting. For possibly the first time in my life, I felt completely at ease with my mom. I had always been very independent and although I loved my mom, we sometimes had moments of friction. She offered to stay with Jacob and me through until the baby was born so she could support me with the housekeeping and lend a helping hand. Jacob was keen on the idea but I hesitated for a couple of days before saying yes. Even though my mom and me have been getting on well, despite having such different ways of approaching life, I was tentative. When the time came for Baby to arrive, I knew I wanted to have some time with just Jacob, the baby and me. But when I picked her up from the airport, I knew I had made the right decision. In fact, I felt privileged to be sharing this special time with her. When we got back to the little house down on the Reservation, she cooed over the cuteness of it. Our house was small and had only two bedrooms, one of which was going to become the nursery, but Jacob and me loved it. It was our den, a cozy place where I always felt comfortable. Mom helped me paint the nursery…well, she painted while I rested my huge bump and watched. And we had multiple shopping trips to Port Angeles to pick out diapers and adorable onesies for the baby.

The weather in Forks and La Push was perfect, adding to my buoyant mood. The forecasters predicted sun for the rest of August which delighted Mom. I'd grown used to the rain and the foggy mists of the Pacific Northwest but it made Mom depressed. She hated it, which was one of the reasons why she left, taking baby me with her to a sunnier state. So the summery August weather on her visit made her very happy. On August 25th, I woke up late. I was finding it harder to sleep at night; every position seemed uncomfortable. And then there was the fact that I had a nightly soccer match going on inside my belly – there was no doubt about the baby's strength!

Jacob had already left for work when I woke and my mom peeped around the door, "Good morning, darling. Jacob just left a minute ago. He was in a bit of a bad mood because his VW wouldn't start, so he took your car. He said he was going to head to the junk yard to get a new part for it."

"Oh, that's annoying," I said. "He's been having problems with that thing. I keep telling him to get a new car but he says he's emotionally attached to it."

My mom and me looked at each other, rolled our eyes and giggled. "Only a man could get so sentimental over a hunk of metal!"

We spent the morning sunbathing in the garden, soaking up the warmth. Jacob called to say he would be back for lunch. I stayed in the garden, dozing, while my mom prepared a salad. I was vaguely aware of the phone ringing and my mom called out, "I'll get it, Bella."

"Mmhhm," I mumbled, the sun lulling me into sleep. I was perfectly relaxed. But then my mom came outside and sat down beside me on the ground. She put her hand on my shoulder and I opened my eyes. She was serious and I instantly knew that something was wrong. A chill ran through me.

"What's happened, Mom? Tell me."

"That was Charlie on the phone. Jacob's had a car accident, Bella. Someone had spilled gasoline all over the road; Charlie said it looked like it was done on purpose."


	21. Chapter 21 Shock

**Copyright declaration**: The _Twilight_series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not-for-profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended

**Author's note: **here's a weekend treat for you: another chapter, packed with drama, of A Stolen Beginning! I hope you enjoy and don't forget to leave me a review with your thoughts!

**Chapter Twenty-one**

– **Shock –**

I felt sick to my stomach as I panicked, "What do you mean? Is he okay?"

"Charlie told me to tell you not to panic. Jacob was taken straight to the hospital. They might need to take him to Seattle but for now he is being treated in Port Angeles. Charlie couldn't tell me much."

"Oh God," I wailed, putting my head in my hands. The worst-case scenario ran through my mind: losing my beloved husband, becoming a widow once again, bringing our child into the world on my own. I went into shock, hyperventilating as I struggled to breathe. It was as though someone had punched me in the stomach, sending me reeling into distress. I stood up and wobbled, feeling dizzy.

"Bella, sit down," my mom ordered. "Put your head between your knees. I don't want you fainting."

"But…but I need to see Jacob," I whimpered, my voice weak. "I want to drive to the hospital."

"Honey, we should stay here until we hear any news. I'm going to call the hospital, okay? I'll see if I can find out any details."

And then fear struck my heart as her earlier words registered with me, "He skidded on gas?"

Gasoline. Highly flammable. Only a week before, I'd watched a report on the news about a gas tanker that skidded out of control and burst into flame. The driver suffered third degree burns. A shiver ran through me, "I know who did it."

My mom frowned, "Charlie said he suspected it was deliberate. But I don't understand. What's going on?"

And so I explained the whole story to her as best as I could through the shaking tremors in my voice. When I finished, she looked at me in disbelief, mouthing the words "Oh my God." at me. She hugged me close as she dialed the hospital number and spoke to them. Then she phoned Charlie. He was the on-duty officer at the time and had been called to the scene of the crash.

When she hung up the phone, I wanted her to spill out the words that everything was okay, just a few bruises and scratches, nothing major. Jacob would be coming home the very same day and we'd embrace in sheer relief at his escape.

But she didn't say that.

"They have taken him straight into the operating theater, sweetheart. He has suffered a lot of trauma to his body and they are setting the broken bones. He has a number of cracked ribs and his leg is fractured. They also suspect there could be damage to his optic nerves from the impact. He hit his head very hard."

I sat, stunned, trying to take it all in. "Was there a fire?"

My mom frowned, "There was. But Jacob wasn't in it. He got out in time. Charlie told me it looks like he opened the door and flung himself out in an attempt to save himself."

I tried to absorb this and then another terrible fear struck me: what if he was brain-damaged from the impact of hitting his head? What if he was blind and brain-damaged?

The hours passed agonizingly slowly. When the phone rang, I jumped every time, hoping it was the hospital. Finally, they called with news:

"Can I talk with Mrs Bella Black, please?"

"Speaking," I said, impatient to hear.

"Mr Black has been transferred to the ICU. We expect his condition to improve but we need to monitor him in ICU for the time-being. He has some broken bones, including cracked ribs, but the good news is they were all simple breaks and fractures; no major problems there. We do have a concern about the head trauma he has suffered from the accident. We need to take precautions to ensure he does not develop secondary brain damage, such as edema (swelling) of the brain or increased pressure inside the skull. The doctors are looking at his MRI and CT scans as we speak and we are constantly monitoring him using EEGs. However, his skull does not appear to be fractured and he flickered his eyes so that is promising."

"Can I come and see him?"

All I wanted to be able to do was to hold Jacob in my arms and to know he would be okay.

"Of course. He is very heavily sedated at the moment. We want to keep him still while we run tests and monitor him. Don't be shocked when you see him, Mrs Black. The ICU can be quite overwhelming if you have no experience of it. Ask for Dr Nicholls when you get there, he will be able to answer any questions you have about your husband's condition."

When I hung up the phone, I felt so weak. My mom rushed to my side, "What did they say, sweetie?"

"They're worried about his head trauma. But they think the signs are 'promising', that's what they said."

"That's good!" my mom said. "They wouldn't say that if it wasn't true. I know what doctors are like; they wouldn't give you false hope."

"I hope so," I nodded.

Charlie arrived, still in his uniform and looking absolutely worn-out. When I opened the door I threw my arms around him, as much as my bump would allow, and burst into tears.

"Oh Dad."

"I know, honey." He patted my back and sighed, "Renêe told me you know who was behind the spilled gasoline. I'll need to talk to you about that and take a statement."

"Yeah, I know who it was. Jacob's jealous ex, Rose Dimanche."

"Okay," Charlie acknowledged.

He spent half an hour talking with me and taking notes. Near the end of his scrutiny of the evidence he paused and said, "What I don't understand, Bella, is why she targeted Jacob and not you."

"Jacob took my car this morning," I said. "His VW wouldn't start. I guess Rose must have seen my car pull out of the driveway and assumed it was me. She knows the route we take to get out of La Push, so I suppose she was out to get me, not him."

I shuddered at the thought of her crazy actions, the obsessive plot she must have developed in her head to murder me and get Jacob back for herself.

"Right," Charlie said, nodding slowly.

"Bella," Renêe called from the kitchen. "I think you've got a visitor. There's a car outside I don't recognize."

"Okay, I'll be right there," I answered. When I stood up from the chair, I felt a warm sticky fluid coursing down my leg. I looked down at the rapidly increasing puddle on the floor, "Oh my…Mom! Dad! We need to get to the hospital. I think I'm going into labor."

I walked through to the kitchen, breathing slowly as I felt the first twinges of labor pain crease across my abdomen. My overnight bag was packed and ready to go. Jacob and me had packed it weeks ago, eager to prepare. Tears pricked at my eyes when I recalled his enthusiasm for choosing the tiny sleep-suits and clothes for the baby. Charlie picked up my bag, grabbed the keys and my mom put her hand on my shoulder to calm me. Then the door opened and Rose burst in.


	22. Chapter 22 Birth

Copyright declaration: The Twilight series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not for profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

Author's note: Sorry it's been over a month since I updated this story. We're coming to the end now, only one chapter left after this one! Let me know if you want me to include anything that should be included in the next chapter…any ideas or any feedback/comments/constructive criticism are very much appreciated! :-) Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and followed my story so far!

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><p><strong>Chapter Twenty-two<strong>

– **Birth –**

Rose was hysterical, her eye makeup running in little black rivulets down her face. "Jacob," she wailed, over and over and over until I put my hands over my ears to block out the sound.

"Renêe!" Charlie said loudly over the sound of Rose's agitation. "I'll deal with this. You need to get Bella to the hospital."

Mom nodded and then I was being hurried out the door and into her borrowed Mustang. Rose's outburst was a temporary distraction and as my mom put her foot on the gas, I was overwhelmed by the pain shooting through my sides.

"It's okay, Bella. Hold on, sweetie. We're nearly at the hospital."

She pulled up outside the Labor and Delivery entrance and called for assistance. I was shown to a comfortable delivery suite where a midwife came to examine me and check my medical details.

Mom was right by my side, reassuring me. But throughout the long hours that followed, when I paced the floor in an attempt to escape from the nagging pain, all I wanted was Jacob and to feel his strong arms around me, his dark eyes giving me the power to deliver our baby.

After several agonising hours of anxiety and pain, I was told it was time to push. And then came the moment when I called into action what felt like every muscle in my body.

"I can't do this," I moaned.

"Yes, you can, sweetheart," Mom said and the midwife echoed her, "You're doing great, honey!"

A spasm of pain shot through me and then my own cries merged with the sound of a very different type of cry.

"Congratulations Bella! You have a healthy baby boy."

"Oh," I gasped, too overwhelmed to think straight. When my baby was given to me to hold, my heart swelled with joy. The rest of the day passed in a blur as I slept soundly, only waking when the nurses came to check on my new little bundle and me.

* * *

><p>Later the next day, a nurse knocked on my door and Mom got up to answer it.<p>

"You have a visitor, Mrs Black," the nurse said. ""He can't stay long but he wanted to see you."

"Who is it?" I asked, raising my head from my pillow.

Mom smiled as she said to the nurse, "Let me help you with that." She opened the door as wide as it would go, assisting the nurse in wheeling through a hospital gurney.

And then I burst into tears. "Jacob!"

"Hey there, beautiful," he replied, weakly holding out his arms to me. We hugged for a long time as tears ran down both our faces, only letting go when a shrill whimper reminded us that we were not the only ones in need of love and comfort.

"Jacob, meet our son," I said as I carefully lifted our baby out of his bassinet and held him so that Jacob could see him.

"Can I hold him?" Jacob asked in awe, as if he were a child asking to play with a new toy.

The nurse laughed, "I would think so, Mr Black! Just be careful you don't pull out the drip in your arm."

I helped Jacob to cradle the baby in his arms and we both smiled. "He's perfect, Bella, truly perfect. And you're so clever, my beautiful girl."

I leaned over to him so our lips could touch and he kissed me, his love evident in his eyes.

Mom snapped a photo of our happy little family and when Jacob had to go back to his room, I felt bereft of his company.

"Don't worry, Bella. He's going to be fine," she said.

"I know," I murmured drowsily. "It feels too good to be true but…[I yawned]… I'm just… _**so**…_ happy."


	23. Chapter 23

**Copyright declaration**: The Twilight series and its characters are the creation of and copyright of Stephenie Meyer. I own nothing and this story is purely a not for profit work of fan fiction. No copyright infringement intended.

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><p><strong>Author's note<strong>: I finally - _finally!_ - completed this story. It took me a long time to write and I am grateful to the patience of my readers. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story, added it to their favorites and given me helpful feedback as I write. I hope you like this final chapter. Have fun reading and as always, don't forget to review! :-)

* * *

><p>Chapter 23<p>

We are Family

Jacob stayed in the hospital for another two weeks. After such a serious accident he was lucky, so very lucky, to escape with only broken bones. I say "only" but in reality, he was in serious pain. The doctors gave him morphine and he came home with a prescription for strong painkillers. He couldn't hold our son without my help and his cracked ribs meant that he found it agonizing to sleep in one position. He eventually ended up sleeping in the reclining chair downstairs every night because it was easier for him. Coping with a newborn and a husband who was reliant on me to help him while he recovered wasn't easy! But we managed with the help of my mom and dad.

Charlie arrested Rose and she was sent to serve a jail sentence, on account of causing grievous bodily harm to an individual and causing emotional distress from physical and verbal threats. When she got out of jail, she was issued with a restraining order which meant she couldn't come anywhere near Jacob, myself or our son. Every day I am thankful that she did not break us apart, no matter how hard she tried.

Shortly after Jacob got home from the hospital, I sat down with him after I had put our son down in his cot to sleep. "We still haven't given Baby a name," I said. "He needs one!"

"What, you mean we can't christen him 'Baby'?" Jacob teased.

I rolled my eyebrows, "Uh, no, we certainly can't. Imagine the teasing he'd get in school."

"Yeah, I guess. It's kind of original though, don't you think?"

I ignored him.

"I don't know what you'd think about it," I said carefully, "but I was thinking about Ephraim Carlisle. Ephraim Carlisle Black has a nice sound to it."

I saw Jacob purse his lips at the thought of naming our son after a vampire.

"I know what you're thinking, Jacob. But, like it or not, I will always be a part of the Cullen family as well as the Black family. I love you. I have always loved you. But Edward was part of my life too."

"I know."

"You're not angry with me?"

"How could I be angry with _you_?" Jacob looked at me, his beautiful tan face creasing into a smile. "The name is perfect. I like it."

"Good," I said, affectionately ruffling Jake's hair and leaning in for a deep kiss, before the sound of a wailing baby reached my ears.

"Uh oh," I laughed. "I had better go feed little Ephraim."

I turned back to smile at Jacob before I ran up the stairs. He smiled back. And I knew, right then, that here was where I was meant to be. Right here, with my happy little family.

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><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: I don't usually write sappy fiction. But what the heck? :)

For those of you who want to know what happens next (I'm not writing a sequel):

Jacob makes a full recovery from his injuries. Six months after the birth of Ephraim, Bella falls pregnant again. She has another healthy pregnancy. This time they have a little girl whom they christen Helena Rose. Helena completes their family and they don't have any more children.


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